Zero's Black Swordsman
by ThaiDude
Summary: The penalty for dying in game will always vary and some of them may seem strange at times. But the penalty for dying in real life can have some very strange consequences too.
1. Death is only a necessary step

...towards the next great adventure

Suxamethonium chloride is perhaps one of the cruellest substances known to man. To say that it is simply a poison does not do it justice. Amongst the various technical terms and medical jargon that describes its effects the one that most people would understand is cardiac arrest. It is colourless and odourless when in an aqueous solution and only a small amount is needed to kill. And killed it has. It has been used as a paralysing agent for lethal injections and has also been used for murder, some of which are not so recent. The latter was because a small enough dose to kill is also hard to detect unless a trained toxicologist is looking specifically for it.

However, that is not what makes it cruel. No, the reason suxamethonium chloride is particularly cruel is simply because the victim will be acutely aware of what is happening to them. They won't lose consciousness nor will they be numbed to the experience of having their heart stop and subsequent failure of the rest of their body. Regardless of whether they feel pain or not during the whole process, the victim will also be unable to communicate as well. The psychological damage of knowing and feeling one's body ceasing to function and the hopelessness of being able to do exactly nothing about it must be beyond description.

He had known about it, read up on it even. Searching for the term succinylcholine on the internet wasn't hard. Feeling it being injected in to him was not that much harder. It had entered his shoulder. The reason it had was because he had lunged straight in to the attack. He was trying to protect something. It was a person, someone dear to him, and he recalled her face, but not her name. Those brown hair and eyes were so soft and warm but full of worry. She must have known, seeing him as he felt himself being lifted away as his consciousness started to leave. In the end, he remembered himself being calm about it all.

Which was why this was a strange sensation. The room he was in was exactly like the one was back in April, white and devoid of anything else. It contained only him. His clothing was certainly not the clothing that he was in when he died. It was black, the garments that he knew and recognised from his time in another world. It was from two-three years ago, the event that had indelibly stained him, a persona that had become a part of his soul. The one known as the Black Swordsman Kirito was now standing here. There were only two possible explanations to this. One, he was really dead and this was the afterlife and two, linking back to his memory of April, he was in the STL, or at least his soul was and neither were especially encouraging.

Kirito wanted to sigh, if only for the sake of doing something, but he became acutely aware of something else. It was a circle depicting ever moving turquoise twirls. He walked around it. There was nothing behind it. He was aware of the concept of a portal, an opening that led to destination but this one showed no sign of where it led to, only that it did. A third explanation popped in to his head. This was purgatory, a sort of waiting room while he was sorted by the powers that be, and the portal was his judgement. Not wishing to be trapped in an endless white expanse forever, he moved his hard towards it. As soon as Kirito touched some invisible but arbitrary barrier that was its boundary, he was sucked in immediately and felt himself falling.

= Elsewhere =

"What do you mean he's not here?"

"I can understand your confusion Asuna-kun but please, allow me to explain."

"Yes Kikuoka-san, please, do explain why you kidnapped Kirito-kun and why he is currently not here."

"We were trying to reconstruct his memories using the STL as he had incurred some brain damage from cardiac arrest."

"It was also going so well too."

"You may not believe me but as we were loading up the software and preparing to insert Kirito-kun in to the Underworld he stepped in to an event horizon."

"An event horizon?"

"He stepped in to a miniature black hole that somehow appeared in the software."

"But if he was hooked up to the STL shouldn't his physical body still be here?"

"That's the thing Koujiro-sensei, it also took with it his body. So for all we know, he could be perfectly fine, the problem lies in that we do not know where he went."


	2. The purely routine would

...eventually produce something extraordinary

An explosion was the result. Quite a spectacular one too, the Zero had always managed to do something in that style. Or rather to say that it was her style was a bit misleading. Every spell she attempted to cast resulted in a violent explosion. The springtime ritual was no exception. She was the last to attempt to summon a familiar, a wise decision on the part of their teacher. Everyone was of course expecting nothing of import to happen, save perhaps the explosion, and dusted themselves off. The spectacle was over and there was nothing else exciting to be gained. If only their teacher would dismiss them already.

Fortunately for the Zero and vice versa for them, she had at least succeeded in summoning something. A white-skinned young man stood as the dust cleared. His hair, short as it was, was as dark as his clothes, both being black. The coat he wore was as long as their cloaks and robes though the inside betrayed no other colour. In fact, save for his skin, he was clad in black and for the moment confusion reigned as everyone sought to come to grips with the situation.

The first to make a sound was the diminutive Zero. It figures she'd try to dismiss her failure to summon a proper familiar and demand another attempt. That was not, however, what she did.

"Who are you?" she asked the black clad arrival, her face scrutinising him.

Kirito met her gaze, only slightly intimidated by the wilfulness of the stare. He'd remember that he'd seen worse. She was petite to say the least, a strawberry blond, if such a thing were possible, and she wore a white blouse with a greyish skirt and a black cloak. Her hand clutched what looked like a twig but upon further reflection, was probably a wand.

Still, the question she posed him of course remained and it was a perfectly natural one. Two people who have never seen the other before would naturally attempt to determine the identity of the other. The Japanese were usually not this rude when introduction were in order and thus he suspected that he was no longer in his homeland. The suspicion grew of course when he took a quick look around him and saw all manner of similarly dressed people of his age with varying hair colours but a distinctly European air.

"I am Kirito," he finally replied in the friendliest manner possible.

"Where are you from commoner?" she snapped back at him.

Now that was unexpected. Or at least it was to Kirito. It was evident that these people held some kind of title. They carried themselves proudly, almost too much so.

"It could only take the Zero to literally summon a commoner servant with the Summon Servant spell," a boy in the crowd remarked.

His classmates of course, burst in to laughter. The Zero glared at him and wished some horrible and painful death at her target.

"Just a minor miscalculation," the Zero replied indignantly her voice still carrying with it a grace Kirito could easily associate with nobility.

"There's nothing wrong here, you failed as per usual," another voice spoke.

"After all, you are Louise the Zero," and once more the courtyard was filled with laughter.

Her name is Louise the Zero, Kirito gathered. It went without saying that he should probably not include her title. Well then, at least try and figure out where you are, he thought to himself. The surrounding was a grassy field, white stone walls encircling them with towers punctuating the key points. A medieval fantasy setting seemed likely thought Kirito. The sight around him as well as the sound seemed too real. Then again, when one fully dove in to virtual worlds as he did, the line between reality and the virtual world blurred. The possibility that he died and went to heaven or hell, was still not ruled out.

"Professor Colbert!" Louise shouted, grabbing the attention of an elderly man amongst the group.

Well, he wasn't exactly elderly but it was clear he was past youth. Similar to the students he wore a black robe but he carried a staff. Kirito first impression of course was that the man seemed in control. Like the Salamander general he fought some time ago.

"Is there anything the matter Miss Vallière?" the older man spoke.

"I wish to perform the summoning ritual again."

"I cannot allow you to do so Miss Vallière," he shook his head and she shook in anger, "It is strictly forbidden to perform the ritual when one has succeeded in summoning a familiar. I was worried that come this second year you would be unable to do so but I suppose it was for nothing. The ceremony was intended to determine your elemental affinity and is based purely on your element. You cannot change your element or what you summon simply because you do not like it."

A familiar was also a concept that was, for lack of better word, familiar to Kirito. At least, in this context, it meant some sort of servant or aide to a magician. Which also helped explain why they were throwing around words like 'elemental affinity', they were mages apparently. That he was summoned as a familiar to aid one came as a bit of a surprise. He'd never actually ever heard of a human familiar before. It was a sentiment shared by his supposed summoner, Louise the Zero amidst the laughter of her supposed peers.

"Tradition is tradition Miss Vallière and the Springtime Familiar Summoning is one of the oldest and sacred rites of all and thus there can be no exceptions. Your concerns however are duly noted," then professor pointed a finger at Kirito, "He, for all intents and purposes, is now your familiar, please continue and complete the ritual."

"With him?" she almost sputtered.

Kirito noted with interested that she was starting to blush. A little more and her face would match her hair.

"The next class will start shortly, please do not be tardy," the professor returned a commanding look, "You've managed at least to prove yourself a proper mage so this is the least you can do."

The jeering started up again. Louise approached Kirito, determined to get whatever she was going to do over with. If she tried to at least maintain any dignity, it was lost when it was clear she reached up for his head with both arms with some difficulty. It was comical really but she managed to bow his head down. Kirito for his part wanted to know where this was going, or some part of him already knew but didn't resist. Her lips touched his. Soft, warm, a kiss on the lips, the kind which he'd known before but never thought would receive from another girl.

Truly he wanted to protest but it looked like little Louise had it worse than he did. She was probably so embarrassed she could die. In his mind, he only thought of his loved one and if his daughter were here, how she would disapprove.

"Well done, you succeeded in 'Contract Servant' in one try," he seemed strangely happy.

This invited more back and forth between Louise and her classmate, Montmorency the Flood, the latter apparently having had an embarrassing nocturnal sphincter failure in the past. Kirito would have been amused at the fact if it wasn't for his body burning like someone took a flame to it. He knelt, clutching his left hand in pain once the sensation had passed and the professor took a quick look at it.

"Strange," he remarked, "I've never seen that combination before."

Kirito inspected the letters on his hand. They looked like runes, Nordic most likely, but he couldn't tell. They were alien to him as this world. However the professor, a Colbert if he recalled, continued without missing a beat.

"Alright back to class, come on now."

Slowly, he lifted himself off the ground without so much as moving a muscle, turned and flew off. Kirito marvelled at the sight as more and more of the students lifted off in the same manner and flew off in the company of some strange creatures. Those were probably familiars, Kirito thought.

"You'd better walk back," was the only parting remark his summoner received as the two of them were left alone in the grassy field.

He wanted at least some answers but was beaten to the punch.

"Who are you?" she practically screamed at him.

Kirito raised his hands in front of him to try and placate her.

"I thought I already told you my name," he said, "If you forgot, it's Kirito. Anyway, can I have your name? Where are we? What's going on?"

"I am your master, Louise de la Vallière, second year student at the Tristain Academy of Magic and I am going to class."

"So, you really summoned me," Kirito trailed off as he wonder what it meant to him.

This seemed like a completely new world with little connection to the one he left behind. If she was a mage and she summoned him, there must be a greater purpose to it. Or maybe there wasn't and he just happened to be a lucky, or unlucky, soul.

"Why is my familiar so dim-witted, why couldn't I get a gryphon, or a dragon?"

He would have taken offense to that if he wasn't struck with an idea.

"Hit me Louise," he told her.

"What?" she replied half-indignant and half-perplexed.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright, just hit me. Right here will do," Kirito pointed at his mug, "I must be a coma from cardiac arrest and if you hit me, maybe I might wake up from it."

Louise didn't look any less confused as she nonetheless stopped and turned to face him once more.

"You want me to hit you?"

He nodded and she approached him, preparing a punch.

"I, the third daughter of the Vallière have suffered so much but this indignity, I swear, " she muttered.

This fist flew and struck hard. It was effective and Kirito's last thought was that she could hit surprisingly hard for a girl her size.


	3. Hell is now currently a fantasy

...medieval feudal society

Kirigaya Kazuto was his full name. Born October 7th and currently seventeen by his reckoning, he attended a special school after a certain dreadful event in his life. Tenacity or rather stubbornness was what he attributed to his survival. If his grades were to go by, he was a hard-working and studious young man in computer related subjects. That aside he was your average unassuming teenage boy who loved video games but who may be a bit blunt at times. It was the part about computers and these video games that his supposed master questioned.

Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière had never heard of such strange concepts or the fantastical world her familiar described. She found it hard to believe that he could come from such a world so far away. Both her and her familiar were breaking bread, it was past sunset when Kirito came to and they had retreated to Louise's dormitory to have what passed for dinner.

"I'm supposed to believe you?" she sighed in disbelief, the piece of bread in her hand never made it to where she intended it.

Kirito shrugged, as if saying, "Believe what you want."

It was a credit to his past experiences that shaped him that he could accept such a reality so quickly. There were two moons out tonight, two moons that shared not the colour of his native country's night sky. In fact the building they entered, the dormitory, was made of stone. Even Louise's room was made of it. However, the décor was mostly wood. The bed, wardrobe even the tables and chairs were wooden and looked pretty old.

"I don't think I can believe you," his master finally said, "Does such a world exist?"

"The world from where I come does exist," Kirito smiled, "Though it was definitely not the only one without mages."

"There's more than one?" Louise was further perplexed.

For him perhaps they were such worlds, virtually created perhaps but he lived in them once.

"Well I'm not lying."

"Watch your mouth commoner," she snapped at his interruption of her thoughts.

"So I'm a commoner."

"Well you can't use magic can you? You're not a mage are you?" she asked him.

"No," Kirito replied after a moment, a little depressed, "Not in this world at least."

"Well then that makes you a commoner."

"I'm suddenly starting to not like this world," he seemed a little resigned, "There's no way back to where I came from either right?"

"As much as I would love to send you back, there is none," Louise sighed with him, "The 'Summon Servant' was strictly one-way and I can't cast it if I already have a familiar."

"And this shows that I am yours?" Kirito lifted his left hand where the runes lay.

She approached him, taking his hand in hers to study the inscription. He hadn't noticed before but she was about as tall as Sinon and was slender, doll-like and also flat as a board. Huh? Who was Sinon again, Kirito thought to himself. He was shaken from the thought by Louise's reply.

"Yes, but it seems you have yet to learn some manners."

"Hai, hai, your highness" he replied with some small amount of sarcasm, "So, all I need to do is just help you out right?

Louise wanted to chastise her familiar but it had for the most part been a tiring day so she'd let him off for now. Wordless she got up from the table and proceeded to the wardrobe. Without as much as a care in the world she started to strip.

"Hey wait a minute!"

"What is it familiar? Don't think I'm going to be embarrassed just because you're in the room," she spoke as her top came off.

So that's how she thinks of me, Kirito concluded as a pair of undergarments settled on his face. She's even throwing her underwear at me!

"You will wash my clothes tomorrow."

Without fanfare, she fell asleep afterwards, caring not what Kirito thought. She seemed to have assured him a roof, a bed and food so it wasn't like he was ungrateful. It was the attitude he didn't like and if she was any indicator, he wasn't going to enjoy his time here much. It seemed that he had died and went to hell after all.

As he tried to sleep he thought of his old life, fraught with danger but also of the small joys that he found along the way. He slowly remembered his loved ones, his family and his daughter. Their memory seemed to calm him and soon he was asleep like his master.

Waking before she did, he soon found out how unpleasant the nobility treated commoners. She tried to have him dress her and he walked off angrily, shouts of her denying him food ignored. He tried to avoid the other students from that point forward. That of course led to the best thing to have happened so far.

Mages apparently learned in university-style lectures. There weren't any seats for him so he claimed the windowsill. He was not alone in that regard, the other familiars started to gather around him for some reason as Louise was called upon to perform some magic. The windowsill was the furthest away from the demonstration area. Fancy that.

The explosion was rather violent for a failed transmutation. Professor Chevreuse never saw it coming. The Vallière girl had clearly destroyed the majority of the front of the classroom.

"Why don't you quit already Zero?" one of the students spat angrily.

"Yeah, with a success rate of zero, you might as well!" another agreed with them.

Louise was covered in soot from the explosion and as the students excused from the class. She would have to clean up the mess she made though Kirito could tell now who was going to be doing most of the work here. They finished by lunch.

"I see the now that the Zero doesn't refer to your, a-hem, physical qualities," he started, and she stopped turning to face him, "But you know, you have me right? So you've succeeded at least once right? They really shouldn't be calling you a Zero."

Louise wanted to hit him, oh yes, chastise that insolent dog, but he spoke and smiled at her. It wasn't the kind of smile that held any malice. Was he trying to cheer me up, she thought. Perhaps he was but she couldn't tell because of that stupid smile he had on his face. Still it would set a bad example to not punish him at all for this morning's transgressions.

"You shall have no lunch today but you will have dinner," she replied with a huff, "Just because you were helpful now does not mean I will not punish you for this morning."

He only smiled and replied with his new favourite reply, "Hai, hai."

That said, Kirito had no intention of starving and as soon as he separated with Louise at the Alviss Dining Hall, he followed his nose. The scent of fresh came around the corner and he was about to turn and follow it but he heard a noise approach as well. Stopping well before the corner a maid with hair coloured like his rounded it and would have hit him if he had been there. Instead she saw him and stopped calmly enough.

"Ah, aren't you Miss Vallière's familiar? May I help you?" she greeted with a clear voice.

Kirito raised both his hands in front of him again, "Guilty as charged."

Giggling only a tiny bit she gave him a look over, Kirito stared at the freckles that adorned her face. He'd never seen such things before on account of living in Japan. Luckily the awkward silence was broken by his grumbling stomach. With a smile on her face, she told him to wait until she returned and they could go together to find something to eat.

Siesta, as that was the maid's name, brought him to the kitchen and handed him some "leftovers" from the nobles. Being the first warm food he'd had in two days, he exclaimed in the most natural way possible,

"Delicious."

Siesta seemed pleased with herself for some reason. In mere moments he had finished.

"Would you like seconds?"

He nodded and she returned with another bowl.

"Weren't you fed?"

Kirito stopped for a moment.

"Oh no, my beloved mistress says that I cannot have lunch for not being able to dress her," Kirito said evenly before changing his tone, "I mean seriously? Can't these nobles dress themselves?"

"Oh Mister familiar you can't disrespect the nobility like that."

"Kirito is fine Siesta," he seemingly ignored her warning and went back to eating.

"You must have some courage to not be scared of them Mister Kirito."

Kirito only laughed nervously and finished his food. His stomach content for now he turned to the maid in gratitude. He had to repay her kindness somehow. She was the first person to be nice to him since he arrived. After much insistence, she roped him in to helping her serve dessert.

The noble kids as he saw were more than ready to dig in and the last he served was with no small amount of coincidence, his diminutive master. She sat at the end of the table. Between her and the one he remembered as Montmorency the Flood, was an empty seat. The latter had some ridiculously curled hair, he thought as he passed the blonde her dessert. Across from her sat three boisterous boys. Well they weren't that loud, mostly whispering to themselves, but Kirito could catch snippets of their conversation. It had something about a "rose for all the ladies," or some such nonsense.

He dismissed it as he served the last dessert on his tray to his master.

"Hoh, I'm surprised you are able to serve so well," the Flood remarked.

Still irritatingly haughty as usual aren't you, he didn't reply. As he did he spied something dropping on the floor. It was a small bottle, thick glass and containing a small amount of fragrant liquid.

"Somebody drop this?" he asked quickly, holding it up to the nearby diners.

His master shook her head and his gaze fell on the boys who amongst them, one blonde looked away quickly and the others shook their heads. The blonde then also shook his head.

"Alright, I guess I'll keep it then," Kirito said to no one in particular and turned to leave until a slap on the table and the sound of someone rising caught his attention once again.

"Stop," it was the blonde, "Though you may think yourself clever commoner, I see too that the bottle does not belong to you. Leave it or I'll have you whipped for theft."

Fair enough Kirito thought and set the bottle down on the table, only to catch once again as another slap on the table knocked it off. It was Montmorency.

"How dare you Guiche, I gave you that bottle as a token of our love, are you going to deny it so cheaply!?"

Another slap on another table and another girl, this time in a brown cloak, stood up.

"Guiche, I thought you said you loved me!"

Not wanting to get caught in the middle of it he took a step back and watched as the blonde Guiche got his just desserts for two-timing. It was hard not to smile widely when two red palm prints were visible on his face. Guiche glared at him.

"What are you smiling at commoner?"

"Nothing," Kirito replied, trying to suppress his smile but in vain.

"You dare mock me, Guiche de Gramont? I'll teach you some manners in a duel!"

Duel was a word that denoted one on one combat between two combatants for whatever reason. It seemed this one was for honour. Kirito of course was never really one to back down.

"First strike or first blood?" he asked in reply.

"Until one of us yields," Guiche replied, "I'll be waiting in the Vestri courtyard. If you want to run now's your chance."

With that Guiche left with as much pomp as he could muster.


	4. Rumours of my demise

...have been greatly exaggerated.

Louise and Siesta were adamant Kirito apologised. They tried to sway him from his course of action. The recurring reason they used was that he'd be killed, never mind the colourful language that Louise employed or the soft expression Siesta used. He was at the door of the courtyard by the time he stopped and turned around. Louise was the one he spoke to.

"Louise, didn't you want a powerful familiar?" he asked her.

She didn't deny that she did.

"Then be happy," he smiled, "If I'm gone you have another chance to get one and if I win then that'll be proof enough. Win-win right?"

Her mouth stayed open in shock. He must have been a special kind of idiot, she thought.

"As a familiar and servant of the Vallière it would reflect badly on me if you were to lose," she finally said.

"Hai, hai."

He continued on to his duel, after those whimsical words again. Kirito was relaxed as he approached the designated location. A crowd was starting to form but so far it seemed there would be plenty of room for manoeuvre. Not only that it was nice and shady due to the being in between two of towers that made up the academy.

Guiche eyed him through the bridge of his nose and before addressing him,

"Well, you took your time. I was beginning to think you had run away."

"Don't tell me we're going to duel unarmed," Kirito didn't take the bait.

"Of course not commoner," Guiche said with a flourish of his wand, "A true mage is never unarmed."

"So an armed mage will duel an unarmed commoner? Truly you are mage without peer."

Guiche was incensed, anyone could tell, because of that remark. The sarcasm was laid on so thick that even it got through to him. The rose wand that Guiche had been brandishing was waved about with a little flourish and a sword appeared in his hands. He threw it and it landed at Kirito's feet.

"Let it not be said that I am not a generous man," Guiche managed to utter, "Now prepare for the beating of a life time."

The rose wand moved again and from the ground sprang up four bronze golems in the shape of armoured women.

"I am Guiche the Bronze and these are my Bronze Valkyries," he gestured fancifully and they moved in to attack.

Kirito picked up the sword with his right hand in response. A sudden change overcame him. It was noticeable in that the runes on his left hand glowed and that the information about the sword became visible in his mind. Guiche's Constructed Sword of Dot Earth Magic was its name and it was a single handed slashing sword. Other snippets of information like length, width and weight were also available and it was nice to know. Perfect, Kirito thought, it was the same type of sword he was used to.

He swung at the first Valkyrie that reached him and deflected its attack, his sword recoiling equally violently. So maybe it wasn't quite the same, he thought, the sword was a bit too light for his liking. Swinging again, he deflected another attack but with despite that he was caught by another attack from the opposite side, raising his left arm as to block the blow. It was a straight punch and it blew his guard wide open. His arm became numb but for some reason it was still movable. Strange, he thought, I fully felt the blow. It should have been enough to break bone. Regardless, he stumbled back and tried to get some distance.

"Haha, it is too late to run away now commoner," Guiche taunted him from afar.

As if he commanded it, the Valkyries surrounded him in a circle. They weren't attacking just yet. Guiche was probably savouring his imminent victory. How am I going to get out of this mess, Kirito thought. The lull gave him plenty of time to think and he remembered something. I still don't know whether this is real or not, I wonder if sword skills would work here. The Valkyrie in front of him started to move. I got nothing to lose anyway, he thought.

Strike second but land first was how he chose to fight. Reacting in the split second as he recognised the Valkyrie's attack, he brought his sword in to position and stood his ground, the blade in his hand raised before it came down. It was a clean diagonal cut, from shoulder to hip, that was the result of his sword skill Slant. There was no time to waste as he rushed past the remnants of the fallen Valkyrie, its sisters in hot pursuit.

He was drawing them out, waiting for them to chase him in a line before turning around and charging back at them. The Valkyries attack pattern was the same, a straight punch that was easily read but hit hard. What surprised him as he dodged the first one's punch and cut it down with the sword skill Sonice Leap was the kick as he ended up in a lowered position from the attack. It was a testament to his reflexes that he could bring the sword in front of him before the kick lifted him off the ground through his block.

The force of the kick was somewhat neutralised but Kirito still flew a bit as he landed shakily on his legs. They were spread out again as he regained footing and closed in. He remembered a time where he sprung a trap and was ambushed by numerous enemies. These two were nothing compared to that. Seizing initiative he leapt at the Valkyrie on the left his sword sundering it in two as he pivoted as he landed and leapt again at the final Valkyrie, the familiar blue glow enveloping his sword.

Guiche stood flabbergasted. He wasn't the only one. This commoner, no this swordsman, had just made easy work of Guiche's Bronze Valkyries. It was unthinkable that swordsmanship could ever surpass magic yet here was proof of it. His eyes saw only a black streak and a blue flash before his creations were neatly cut down. His opponent locked eyes with him, turned and charged. He panicked now, an impossibility had just happened and he could only gawk in horror at his impending demise.

No, that was not how he wished to be remembered. The wand in his hand changed form and became an identical sword. Guiche de Gramont would go down swinging. Kirito noticed it, the clumsy overhead blow that would catch him if he wasn't careful. But another thought struck him and he lowered his blade, the glow returning to his sword and felt that the sword skill would initiate properly. Idly wondering why he could use swords skills, Kirito cut cleanly through his opponent's sword and landed behind him.

The duel was over. Guiche was catatonic, even as Kirito tapped his cheeks with his blade. There was no need to even have someone declare a winner. It was obvious enough. He returned the sword back to Guiche.

"The name's Kirito by the way," he smile and turned away.

He didn't get far before his master Louise emerged from the crowd and the numb feeling in his left arm faded. His body burned, his arms hurt, the left especially so, his legs were heavy and his breath became short. He could still stand, barely at that, and his sight wavered. Looking down he asked Louise between pants of breath.

"Do you happen to know a healer?"

She did.


	5. Good things

...come to those who never asked for it

Kirito sat opposite Louise in the infirmary as his arm was tended to. The blow he received hadn't exactly shattered the bone, only fracturing it extensively. Nothing a little healing magic couldn't fix. His body's exhaustion subsided pretty quickly though he was pretty sure he was going to be sore in the morning. A little exercise seemed in order.

"Impressed yet?" he asked with a grin on his face.

Louise looked at her familiar and felt conflicted. She didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. On one hand, he looked so proud of himself that it bordered on insolence and on the other he just defeated a mage in single combat. Granted Guiche wasn't exactly a Gryphon Knight but still, it counted for something. Her nobility won out in the end. It would not do to have the familiar get too confident now.

"Don't think that because you defeated that fop Guiche," she started.

"Hai, hai, I'm not the king of the world," Kirito finished for her with his typical carefree tone.

She looked at him sourly and he continued to smile like he was, in fact, king of the world. A sigh escaped her lips. Her familiar possessed a modicum of power, no doubt about it, but if his nature was to be so naturally troublesome she would probably worry herself to death. She snorted at herself now. I'm starting to care about this troublesome familiar, me, Louise Françoise, care about a lowly familiar, she thought.

"You know," Kirito spoke as her emotions fought a civil war, "We never really did get to know each other."

True enough, she never really did question why she got such a useless commoner for a familiar. Or rather, she expected it, as she was the Zero. It was only natural that her familiar be a reflection of her useless self. But now, she knew a little bit more about her familiar and he was strong, relatively speaking, so perhaps she as well had some hidden talent of some kind that not apparent.

"So you're a swordsman," she huffed, trying not to sound curious, "You should have let me know from the start."

Kirito chuckled and rubbed the back of head with his right. This indirectness reminds me of someone I know, he thought.

"I don't think you would have believed me," he said, a metaphorical arrow thoroughly bursting Louise's bubble before he puffed himself up a little, "I'll have you know that I was known as the Black Swordsman in my world."

So the commoner had a title, something his friends and enemies knew him by. It was a simple one and it wasn't an insulting epithet to boot.

"Hah, what kind of swordsman are you if you don't even have a sword," she shouted back.

If only for the briefest moments, Kirito seemed hurt as he recalled something.

"Yeah, I suppose," he had a strained smile on his face.

There was something there, Louise thought. Something that he wasn't telling her was troubling him. If he were a normal familiar, she probably wouldn't have to care but here was a familiar that lived and breathed as she did. He could feel emotions and had a personality. He could tease her or tell her off, not that he would. Was having a familiar this complicated? Is this one of Brimir's tests, she thought, or was it part of the curriculum that she would have to suffer through?

"Come on, we're leaving," she finally said, standing up to leave with her thoughts to herself.

He followed her quietly, a little less lively than earlier. Before they left, Kirito's sight lingered on the nearby window.

The days after, the students were all wary as Kirito stalked the halls behind his master. He was like a revenant or a shade that followed in her wake. That aside, the days would pass without incident, well mostly, there was the occasional explosion whenever Louise tried to cast something.

The academy's plebeian population was another matter. They adored him. Here was a commoner that defeated a mage. Unheard of for many of them and he even had the trappings of a hero. Kirito would have his meals in the kitchen, far away from the nobles and every time, the head chef Marteau would greet him with a hearty slap and some hale soup.

"Eat up 'Our Sword'!" he would always say in that loud and booming voice.

Kirito didn't mind the appellation and always ate his meals with reserved gusto. Today, most of the male staff seemed to crowd around him and Marteau took a seat nearby. It needn't be said that Siesta was present as well.

"Me and the lads were wondering," the big man admitted shyly, "How did you do it? Beat the noble that is."

Kirito chewed on it.

"Well," he drew out the word, "I don't actually know."

The crowd would have fallen flat on their faces if there was ice on the floor. Instead they settled for mild shock.

"I mean," Kirito tried to correct himself, "I don't know why I could swing the way I did."

Following his duel, Kirito got up each morning to do some exercises. He didn't use a real sword on account of not possessing one and so had to make do with a stick. The runes on his hand stayed dormant and he wondered why they flared up during his fight with Guiche. He had a few theories. The runes probably required him to fulfil a certain condition though he wasn't sure what that condition was. Was he required to be in a duel or a fight?

"'Our Sword' shouldn't be so modest," Marteau replied with a hearty slap on his back, "Siesta and the other maids see you training every morning. Surely you can at least tell us the name of the style you use."

A style huh, Kirito thought. It wasn't like he had a style. He didn't go too far in to Kendo but he did have experience in that floating castle. The two years of life and death battles had taught him to fight a little bit better at the very least. It had carried over when he had escaped that death game and when he attempted to climb Yggdrasil. It was with a little bit of pride when he uttered the name,

"The Aincrad Style."

Amidst the "Oohs" and the "Aahs" Kirito felt another presence that, once again, came from a nearby window. It was brief but as soon as he snapped his head towards it, it disappeared as if it was never there.

The rumour mill had worked its magic. Come dinner time, most of the students have heard the whispers of the Aincrad Style, apparently famous for cleaving their enemies in twain. It's raw power and ferocity was more than a match for Germanian swordsmanship schools and its speed unrivalled even by the Romalian styles.

Louise of course was in her room. After dinner she had retired there to gather her thoughts. The biggest matter in her mind was of course her familiar. Professor Colbert had talked about the springtime familiar summoning ritual. It was supposed to determine the element of the summoner. Most of her classmates had gotten familiars that were easily assigned to an element, like Guiche an earth mage that summoned a mole. What element could she be, if she had summoned a human? He clearly was not aligned with any of the elements. The library had yielded nothing, at least in the sections she was allowed to peruse and she doubted she would be able to get permission for the sections she couldn't.

That however wasn't the only problem with her familiar as it was only a matter of research. The other problem was more immediate. Namely that her familiar had been loose-lipped enough to divulge his secrets to his fellow commoners but tight-lipped enough to not even talk to her about it directly. She knew he was hiding something but if it was a personal matter then perhaps she would have let it slide, but for him to tell the whole world about it save her was, in her mind, very disrespectful bordering on mockery. If there was anything Louise hated, it was mockery. She has had enough it from her classmates but now even her lowly familiar was making fun of her.

Speaking of the devil, her familiar opened the door to the room and she glared at him as he entered the room.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Doing your laundry," he answered hesitantly, wondering what caused her foul mood.

Louise had nearly forgotten that her familiar, despite some reluctance, could handle some chores for her. Strangely, he still refused to dress her.

"Then perhaps you can explain something to me," Louise got up from the chair and rummaged around her room for something, "And do not leave out a single detail."

She found what she was looking for, a riding crop. The message should be clear. Kirito laughed nervously.

"Then tell me, familiar, what is the Aincrad style?"

"I just came up with a name," he tried to hide behind his usual cheery demeanour.

"And what is Aincrad?"

"The name of a castle," he said after a pregnant beat and continued with some reluctance, "I spent…some time there."

"And why is it you deigned it unimportant to not tell me but the rest of the world?"

Kirito had to consider his words but his mouth moved faster.

"You didn't ask," as soon as the words were out of his mouth he could only fear the worst.

Her anger was understandable. He was being a bit cheeky after all. Of course that didn't stop the whip from cracking as it descended upon him. It stung a bit. She had to chastise him physically as she was so hopelessly inept with magic. After chasing him out the room with her whip, Kirito caught his breath. She doesn't want to leave her room, he wondered. It was dangerous to go back in until she calmed down though.

A red lizard waddled around the corner and met his sight. It was about a good metre or two long and its tail was alight with fire. Its gait was similar to the great reptiles of Earth, since it was almost as wide as them. As it approached, the ambient temperature rose a little. Kirito knelt down and gave it a good look when it stopped in front of him.

"Salamander," he said to no one in particular.

If it could talk it probably would have replied with an acknowledging, "Spriggan," but instead it clamped its great jaw around his sleeve and dragged him off. His verbal and vocal protests amounted to nothing.


	6. Every good boy

...dives through the fire and the flames and carries on

The room that Kirito found himself was dark. The only source of light was from the window. A silhouette was visible by the moonlight. The twin moons were surprisingly bright.

"Welcome," a sultry voice greeted him.

Slowly the lamps lit up one by one until the room was visible. It was similar to Louise's room in size but the décor was a bit more inviting. The bed especially caught his attention. A female student lay on it. She was dressed very sparingly, a translucent purple night gown, and he skin was dark, darker than most students here, and her hair was rich red. Eyeing him with desire, she beckoned for him to come forth.

"My name is Kirche the Ardent," the young woman began, "And I hope you will forgive me."

"For what?" Kirito asked a bit confused at the moment.

"Many would call me a loose woman," she pouted a little, "But I am a slave to my passions, my desires. And tonight, I desire you."

Kirito had to admit, Kirche was even more direct that he was. For someone who had at least four girls his age pine for him, he still found the confession a bit flustering. Kirche grinned and she raised herself to a seating position, showing off her voluptuous form in motion. He gulped visibly. Her movements were deliberate, each gesture, each motion was designed to attack the weak points of the male psyche.

"Come closer," she commanded.

He was frozen in indecision. There was only so much blood that could be supplied to Kirito's brain at the moment. In the end, he saw no reason to. It was awkward to talk to someone from across the room. Yes, that is exactly what he was going to do, he decided. I am going to talk to her, he repeated in his mind, not a chat, or anything else, but a talk. The other voice in his head just tut-tut'd quietly and called him a bad, bad man.

Kirito was halfway across the room when there was a rap on the window. Another silhouette appeared but this time from outside the window.

"Oh my lovely Kirche I have come to see you as promised," the voice of a boy.

"Not now John, I'm a little busy right now," Kirche snapped back, "How about tomorrow night?"

"But my love," he was cut off by another voice and silhouette.

"What are you doing here?" it spoke, it was another boy's voice.

"James what are you doing here?" John sounded incredulous as well.

Kirito, saved by the comedic effect of Kirche's scheduling conflict, idly thought to himself, it must be a mage thing. Kirche however was rather annoyed by the interruption and opened the window and pointed her wand outside. The sound her spell made was like a flamethrower.

Fwoosh

And a gout of flame appeared as it roared outwards. It was rather amusing to hear her spell rewarded with screams of "I'm on fire!" These mages sure were violent. After a few more tries and a few more suitors, he was at lost to find the appropriate word, were chased off and once again they were alone.

"Sorry about that darling," her original sultry tone returned, "Now where were we? Ah yes, come closer. I want you to keep me warm tonight."

Kirche got up and started towards him. Her elegant footfalls moved the earth as she finally stood in front of him, taking him in her arms. Hot breath fell upon his face as her lips closed.

It was in that instant that Louise burst in to the room, her mighty kick swinging the door wide open with a resounding slam. She had been looking for her wayward familiar ever since he disappeared from her doorstep with shouts and curses. It had taken some time but she had finally found him, ensnared by that none other than von Zerbst.

"What are you doing to my familiar?" she demanded.

"Nothing that little kids should know," Kirche teased, closing in once again.

Kirito resisted, leaning away, while trying to disentangle himself from her without trying to suggest anything. Pouting again, Kirche looked at him, her eyes tearing up.

"I'm married," he replied a bit meekly.

"Oh that just makes you all the more desirable," Kirche licked her lips and hugged him tighter.

"You're married?" Louise was more voicing her thoughts than expecting an answer.

"I also have a daughter too," Kirito tried again, a bit more firmly, "And I love them both very much."

"Well, a man of your calibre," Kirche replied thoughtfully, "I wouldn't mind bearing a daughter for."

"Zerbst you shameless," Louise sputtered, half angry.

"What is it Vallière?" Kirche was starting to lose her patience now but she still remained teasing, "Must your prude little minds get in the way of our love?"

"Your crude family does not love," Louise snapped, "You lust and rut like animals without a care in the world. You don't even care about him."

"Of course I do," Kirche was indignant, "I can show him how much if he let me."

"You're going to make him enemies!"

"Didn't you see how he handled Guiche? He's a skilled swordsman."

"He doesn't have eyes in the back of his head Kirche. He doesn't even have a sword."

"I can watch his back, he does have a good behind, and that'll be more than enough to keep him safe."

Somehow Kirito doubted that and finally managed to extricate himself from her grasp. Holding her hands in his, he returned them to her with a quiet apology. Louise had made some good arguments and he'd rather remain faithful.

"Don't leave me here darling," Kirche was in tears.

"Don't listen to her tricks," Louise countered.

He left the room, Louise swiftly behind him.

"Don't ever go see her again," Louise warned as they walked back to her room, "She is a Zerbst and I am a Vallière."

"You aren't friends with the others too though."

"My family have been fighting these thieves for over 200 years. They steal away not just land, riches and honour, but brides and grooms too. Doesn't help that they live next door either."

"So it's not just about the vast tracts of land that Kirche has huh?" he wondered.

"It was never about country matters in the first place," Louise confirmed.

They arrived in Louise's room without further incident.

"I'm going to get you a sword tomorrow," Louise declared suddenly.

Kirito wonder what brought this about. Earlier was mad with him not sharing his past and now she was going to buy something for him. He was about to ask why when Louise continued.

"That Zerbst woman has got her sights set on you. You're going to have to beat her back with a stick now."

It went without saying that a stick wasn't going to cut it against the fire mage. Louise's reasoning thus explained, she barricaded the door, or made Kirito do it, as best as she could and went to bed.

The very next day also happened to be the start of a day of rest and thus allowed Louise and Kirito to leave the Academy for the nearest city. A city which also happened to be a three hour ride away, the travelling time increased because Kirito had never physically ridden a horse before.

The country they were in was named after its capital. A capital called Tristain. Walking on the cobbled Rue Bourdonné, Kirito could tell that there were more commoners here in the street. It felt like they were walking in a dirtier and more crowded alley of Kawagoe.

It wasn't exactly a big, though Louise insisted that it was, and their first stop was a weapons shop. It was the kind he had seen before. Weapons lined the walls and swords were by the barrel. He knew what he was here for however and soon separated from Louise. A cut and thrust sword the length of his arm and feeling comfortably weighty was what he needed.

Louise meanwhile had approached the shopkeeper, a rotund, pipe smoking man by the counter.

"I do honest business here noble," he said accusingly.

"And I'm looking to do just that," Louise replied, "Show me your best."

With a small sigh of relief and a grunt the shopkeeper left the counter, disappearing in to the back, most likely to look for his best. Kirito was too busy to notice as he passed each sword over. His runes glowed faintly as he drew the blades from their scabbards but none of them satisfied him. They were all simply felt too light and he finally had to move on to old looking swords in the barrel. As he rummaged through them the shopkeeper finally came back. In his hands was a golden sword, easily taller than Louise and weighing perhaps just as much.

"The Germanian Alchemist Lord Shupei made this, guaranteed to cut through anything like a hot knife through butter," he proudly proclaimed.

"Well?" Louise turned to Kirito who had all but ignored them, "Try this one."

It looked pretty, that's for sure, Kirito thought as he approached the blade. His right hand grabbed the hilt and his left hand failed to glow. Perhaps the glow indicated a weapon, he thought as he lifted the blade one-handed with some difficulty. It was weighty to be sure but the grip was slippery and the edge seemed dull. Magic or not, he didn't like the feel of it and returned it to the counter.

"Sorry, not what I'm looking for," he said with a smile.

"Not what you're looking for?" the shopkeeper looked shocked, "Lad, that is the best blade in my shop. If you're going to insult my merchandise you can just leave."

"He knows you're trying to fleece him old man," came another voice.

Kirito homed in on it. It was a male voice definitely but there was no one there.

"Over here," it spoke again.

It came from the bottom of a barrel and Kirito seemed puzzled until a sword rattled within. Pulling it out, the hilt seemed to move as it spoke,

"Glad to finally meet you partner."

He knew why the sword called him that. No sooner had his hands pulled the sword from the barrel did he finally feel it. It was the same sensation as when he first heft "Dark Repulser," here was a sword that was going to stay with him until the end. Never mind the rust, or the nicks and scratches. This sword was meant for him, it was the only one that didn't give away its secrets by his touch.

"I'll take this one," he stated with absolute confidence.

"Are you sure?" the shopkeeper looked at him piteously, "Derflinger is the most annoying sword in existence."

So Derflinger was its name huh?

"Why that piece of junk?" Louise demanded.

She was apparently focused more on its appearance.

"I am taking this one," Kirito repeated.

"Look kid, I know Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt is in town. You aren't going to protect squat with that piece of scrap."

Louise had heard the name at least once. An infamous magic thief that robbed nobles apparently, but she never really did pay attention to those kinds of stories. What she did notice was Kirito's choice of words. He didn't speak as if he was buying the sword. He spoke as if he owned it already. What a troublesome familiar.

"How much for it?" she finally asked.

"For Derflinger, well," the shopkeeper seemed pensive for a moment, "100 écu, I've had enough trouble finding a buyer for it since that stupid thing keeps driving away customers."

"That's only because you try to cheat your customers," the sword replied.

The shopkeeper remained impassive at the accusation.

"Deal," Louise said.

Not spending too much of her allowance was a good thing she supposed. The fact that her familiar also seemed happy was also good, though she would never admit that to anyone.


	7. Well it seems your terms

...are not acceptable"

Professor Colbert was droning on and on about some insignificant invention again. Louise was bored, incredibly so. What Colbert preached was not how to become a better mage and thus was of no importance to her. She intended to trap him after class to see perhaps what insight she could gain about her power, if she possessed any in the first place. The books she sifted through had revealed nothing.

There had to be more than just summoning a familiar that she could do. Of that, she was convinced and it was not a Vallière who strayed from their path. Which also brought her train of thought back to the familiar she had summoned.

Despite the gift she had given him, he still remained tight-lipped on his past or his abilities. Grant it was only a day ago that they were in Tristain and that there hadn't been a good opportunity to broach the subject. Not with Zerbst trying to seduce him at every turn at any rate. She was absent from class today and all that meant was that Louise and her familiar would be relieved of the nuisance for a while, until Zerbst returned with a vile plan of some sort.

Down in the Vestri courtyard, whenever she could spare a glance, was her familiar Kirito. He was going through his daily training. It occupied him when he had nothing to do and at the very least, now he could do it with a real sword instead of the sticks he usually used. The very same sticks however, were now in her room, of all places. He had polished them off amidst his training and they now looked more like practice swords more than the sticks that he claimed them to be.

Kirito could feel the runes in his hand guiding Derflinger as he swung downwards. It was the traditional vertical Kendo cut that had been drilled in to him in his childhood. One hundred strikes he attempted and all of them were perfect, flawless even, in form. He didn't even feel tired, except when he planted Derflinger in to the ground to wipe off his sweat. The exhaustion came at him and his arms felt a little uncomfortable, but nowhere near the extent of his duel with Guiche.

"That was a hundred perfect strikes partner," the sword remarked as Kirito rested.

It had helped that Derflinger was sentient to some extent, but it was also old and thus had forgotten what it had felt like to be wielded. However, there were some things that just couldn't be forgotten.

"The runes are guiding me Derf," Kirito replied, "I never swung as perfectly as I did. Do you know anything about them?"

"All I know is that you're my partner and I'm yours," it replied simply.

"There's something else. Whenever I touched another weapon, I could learn everything about it, but for you, I know next to nothing about you."

"I dunno," the sword did its best to shrug, "Maybe you'll learn more about me if you get stronger."

"A levelling weapon huh?" Kirito mused, "Well then, I guess I just have to get stronger."

"Too right partner."

Kirito picked up Derflinger and entered another stance. It was the same kind he'd used many years ago and it somehow came back to him naturally. Derflinger started to glow too, the light blue light emanating from it like it emanated from Kirito's hand as the two moved. Their figures were but blurs to anyone who looked. There were a few, maids on their way to complete their chores and bored students, locked in their lecture rooms in those high towers. The view from on high was remarkable though as they saw Kirito and his sword's path draw the shape of a square.

Kirito's breath shortened as he completed the sword skill Vertical Square. He thought that the runes would prevent him from being tired. Or maybe it was something else. There was a cost to using sword skills and it wasn't easy to measure. It was just the knowledge of knowing how much before exhaustion became an issue. I guess I'll have to re-learn those limits, he thought. He was grateful that he could, training swords were good and all but they were called sword skills for a reason.

"What was that?" the sword seemed shocked.

"Oh, it's a sword skill."

"No, no, I know that, but four consecutive strikes? That's pretty crazy partner."

"Hooh, you know about sword skills Derf?"

"Of course I do. It's just been so long since I've seen one."

"How long exactly?"

"Long enough for these mage to have forgotten."

Louise and a few of her classmates weren't the only ones to have witnessed the display. However, they were part of the majority that didn't deem it necessary to listen in on the conversation. For those that did, the cogs in their heads turned. For a certain Jean Colbert, his attention was divided between the class that never really paid attention to him in the first place and pondering a potential lead that the sword had unwittingly given him. He, like Louise, had poured over the texts, even the forbidden ones at the headmaster's permission, and his only lead so far had been the six thousand year old legend.

Dismissing class shortly afterwards, he was not surprised to see the Vallière child wishing to speak to him. Of course she would have questions about her familiar. Unfortunately for her, Colbert only gave her answers where appropriate. Why was her familiar not subservient? He honestly didn't know why the enforcement wasn't working. Why was her familiar a commoner swordsman? That he did not know either but he had his theories. Theories which he could not divulge since it would not do to get her hopes up.

It was a shame really. He honestly feared for her expulsion if she had not summoned a familiar and contracted it. That relief was short-lived with the kind of familiar she summoned, not to mention that incident with the Gramont boy. He assured her that he was going to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime she'd just have to live with it. That and he also had a prior appointment, one with a certain Miss Longueville, and it wouldn't do to keep a lady waiting. She had wanted to discuss the history of the academy's protection and he was happy to oblige.

Louise had not been satisfied with the answers that Professor Colbert gave her. She barely touched her dinner as she ruminated on his words. It had puzzled him too why her familiar, though powerful, was not curbed by the supposedly powerful and ancient 'Contract Servant'. Regardless of why, she now decided that if magic failed her, as it often did, she'd have to just confront him in the only way she knew how.

He was star gazing. The twin moons were beautiful and all but that didn't mean the other celestial bodies weren't as heavenly. Louise would also count if he had that kind of preference, the way she was towering over him like that and glowering could be considered cute. Kirito could barely make out the details beneath her skirt if it wasn't so dark.

"Familiar," she started harshly, "We need to talk."

That they did. It was something put off for a bit too long.

"Are you always like this?" he asked her, "Putting on airs because it's the only thing you have left."

"A commoner like you would probably never understand honour."

"I see," he seemed satisfied by her answer, "Your turn."

"My turn?" that he was still speaking like this irked her, "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"My master," he drawled.

"Then you should show the respect!" she shouted, "What is it that makes you so insolent? I should leave you for dead."

There was a lengthy silence before her familiar replied,

"I'm already dead."

"I'll have you know that even your jokes are in poor taste familiar," she replied, still annoyed.

"I don't see why I should lie" he remarked knowing that it was hard to believe, "I died Louise."

He gave her a moment to digest but she didn't seem to change her glowering expression so he sat up and faced her to properly converse.

"The last memory I had before I arrived was my death. I died Louise. My heart stopped, my breathing stopped and I felt the pain of it and now I find myself here, living and breathing again. This is not the first time I knew I died and woke up again. Am I really dead and in hell or am I still alive? What am I supposed to feel?"

"You aren't supposed to," she finally said, "The 'Contract Servant' should have made you obedient."

He had a sneaking suspicion that something was affecting him and when she mentioned that he should have been magically enslaved to her his suspicions were more or less confirmed. It was chilling thought, and another issue on his already well-laden platter. She probably didn't notice that her 'Contract Familiar' was indeed effective, but he did since it was subtly affecting his behaviour and his memories. That he hadn't thought about striking it out on his own already was already a testament to its grip on him. It was strange that the more he thought of running off, the less he could concentrate on it, other things slipping in to derail his train of thought.

"Then perhaps it should have," he dismissed the topic, "I've died and woken up too many times that I can't tell anymore."

"When was the first?" asked Louise, "We'll start from there."

"The first huh?" he thought long and hard, "I had chosen to go to Aincrad, that was a few years ago. Two years of fighting for my life and then at the very end, I died and was set free."

"And the others?"

"Inconsequential deaths, I knew I would come back from them, unlike in Aincrad."

"And how can those ones be inconsequential?" Louise was truly flummoxed.

She was starting to grasp the crux of his problem. There was one thing that bothered her about the tales of his death however, despite the ridiculousness of it all. How and why did he keep going after he died, and was this not the same? Was he giving up? She asked him these questions and he remained silent. He was reticent about living as her thrall after all.

"And what about you?" he inevitably asked, "You're bad at magic and you still continue."

As much as she hated it being pointed out, she, unlike him, had certainty and conviction.

"Because of you," she answered, "Because of you I fulfil the minimum requirements. That means there must be a way for me. I am a Vallière and I was raised by the Rule of Steel. Among many things I will not accept, it is defeat."

She needed him. He was her self-validation. It explained a bit of her behaviour. Louise was harsh and wanted him to act like a proper familiar so that it may in turn she can come closer to being in her views a proper mage. It was almost purely peer pressure that drove her. But her views were not his, and would not be his as long as he had a will. There had to be a way to escape this perverse enslavement that was arguably not of his choosing, there had to be a way back. Until proven otherwise, Kirito finally made up his mind on the goals that he chosen.

"Well now that we know a little more about each other, I think we should discuss terms," he said.

"Terms?"

Louise's confusion changed to wariness. He was now smiling again, but there was a difference there. She couldn't place it.

"Yes, terms of our contract," he elaborated, "They weren't very clear."

"The terms are that you obey me familiar," she replied quickly.

"How about we start with names?" he continued as he ignored her, "I mean I call you Louise and you don't seem to mind. So can you at least use my name? It's Kirito if you've forgotten."

"I'll have you whipped for your insolence," she drew out the familiar riding crop.

"Really now?" he sighed, "I have a sword you know?"

He picked up Derflinger. It was an empty threat of course, but she didn't have to know that. It took her a small while before she backed down, making a "hmph" sound and signalling him to continue.

"You also provide food and shelter, so I can agree to protect you. I mean, I'd be homeless if I didn't."

"So what is it you want?" Louise spat, she wasn't exactly the best negotiator, being used to getting what she wanted outside of magic, but she knew didn't have much leverage, "What does it take to get you to obey?"

"Let's just be friends," he answered.

It was a simple request of course, but Louise still had her prize. She, a Vallière, stooping down to the level of a commoner, a familiar, was preposterous. What could they possibly have in common, she thought aloud. Kirito only pointed at something. Before she could turn, she heard a voice that could not have come at a worse time.

"Yoohoo, darling."

Kirche had returned.


	8. Moving mud involves

...more than just ploughing fields"

Kirche had greeted them from the air. She sat atop a beautiful blue-grey dragon. Another figure, much slimmer and more modest, also sat in front, presumably the owner of the dragon. It wasn't until they landed and settled on the ground did Kirito get a good look at the other rider. In the darkness, he made out a blue hair, glasses, a book of some sort and a staff taller than the rider itself. Louise already knew who the rider was but she wasn't going to introduce them just yet. A certain well-endowed redhead had occupied her attention.

"What is it now Zerbst?" she snapped as angrily as usual.

"Now now Vallière, you think you can buy darling's loyalty do you?" Kirche chided.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Zerbst. My familiar and I are having an important talk so I suggest you leave."

"Oh ho, so darling is dissatisfied with your gift," Kirche continued in the same tone, "I doubted a poor Vallière like you could have afforded a proper sword. Behold, my darling!"

Kirito didn't hear her. He was too busy in a staring contest with the dragon's rider. Both dragon and rider shared the same colouration in hair, eye and scale. Though the rider held a book with its pages open, its title unreadable to Kirito, her eyes had stopped tracing the lines on the pages once he approached her. If it wasn't for the student uniforms, Kirito would never have been able to tell that she was indeed a girl. He gaze didn't settle in one spot for long, taking in her whole form. The way she held her staff and the way her eyes bored a hole through him suggested she was also sizing him up. Indeed, she seemed cold and calculating but not totally unapproachable. Kirche had managed to rope her in to a zany scheme, one that had the both of them skip classes for some reason, after all.

"Kirito," he tried.

"Tabitha," was all he got and their staring contest continued.

It would have continued until one of them gave up of course. Their gazes were locked, Tabitha unwilling to look away or show any weakness but Kirito was just being childishly stubborn. Kirche got them to separate. She had taken Kirito by the shoulder and spun him around before shouting,

"I said, behold my darling!"

In her other hand was an ornate scabbard. A hilt that he had recognised was sticking out of it. She wanted him to take it and reluctantly he did so, confirming his suspicions as he drew the sword inside. The heavy, unwieldy and gaudy sword from the arms dealer in Tristain was once again in his hand.

"I take your silence as approval," she said in a sing song manner.

"Hah, what is that overpriced thing doing here?" Louise asked.

Kirito wanted to echo that sentiment.

"Tut, tut Vallière. You wouldn't know good Germanian steel if you saw it."

But it's gold, Kirito wanted to retort.

"My familiar already tried that sword and he didn't like it."

"He was just being modest," Kirche answered, "He didn't want to bankrupt his master after carrying her light purse. After all, if he could afford it, he'd probably get a magnificent sword instead of that rusty piece of junk hanging on his back."

"Hey!" the sword on Kirito's back shouted, "Who do you think you are calling the mighty Derflinger a piece of junk? Why I oughta."

Kirche looked mildly surprised and tried to hide her suppress her smirk as something clicked in her head.

"So you got him a talking sword? Oh I'd never thought a Vallière would do something so amusing," she remarked before she spied Kirito, "Hey what are you doing?"

He had drawn Derflinger, holding it in his right raised above his head with the golden sword perpendicular to it in his left around waist height.

"It's how I compare swords," Kirito replied without looking away and swung.

"Wait!" Kirche said and Kirito pulled the blow enough that it only cut halfway through the golden sword, "I paid good money for it!"

"Well you got ripped off," Kirito replied as he held up the now broken sword.

The cut wasn't deep but it was deep enough for anyone to see that the blade was only coated in gold, the inside was a darker metal that looked softer than steel.

"If there's anything that could be said about that alchemist who made this is that he is really good at tricking his own countrymen," Louise burst out laughing, "I bet even the jewels are glass."

It was a mocking laugh directed a Kirche who had unwittingly bought a lead sword that was lined gold and a beset with glass gems. As for Kirito, he finally knew why it didn't feel right in his hand.

"Told you so," Derflinger added smugly.

Kirche could only wail in torment. Or she would have if it was not drowned out altogether by another sound. It was a large thump of two massive solid objects colliding and it shook the ground a little as well.

"What was that?" Louise voiced the collective opinion.

"I'll go check it out," Kirito replied.

The sound didn't come from too far away and it continued at a regular intervals. Speeding across the campus, Kirito closed in on the sound of hammer blows that shook the ground. As he rounded a corner, he found the source of the rumbling. It was a lucky angle that allowed him to make out the silhouette amidst the shining moons. A giant many storeys high was pounding on one of the academy building's walls. Its fist, like its body, was made of rock and its collision with the stone wall of the academy was making a distinctive sound. In short it was a golem.

"What the hell?" he mostly asked himself.

It was obviously trying to break the wall but to what end? Kirito wondered if he should attempt to stop it, not that he felt any obligation to the academy or anything. That and he didn't even know if he could even do anything against it. This wasn't a game. A sword skill's effects on a human being were relatively easy for him to guess, but against solid stone he had no idea what would happen. He certainly hoped he wouldn't be greeted with a much dreaded "Immortal Object" message.

If there was a chance to find, it was now. The golem stopped its assault on the walls for a moment before it turned towards Kirito. Its body language suggested that it was looking at him but in reality, it didn't have any actual eyes. The silhouette changed. There was another on the golem's shoulder. It must have been the one who controlled it. Kirito couldn't make out much more than that as the golem's foot made itself the centre of attention. There wasn't supposed to be a witness. Derflinger was still in his hand but blocking something so massive was impossible. There was no telling what kind of mass was behind it but it was more than enough to put him six feet under literally.

Still assisted by the runes, Kirito sidestepped the massive stone foot. It was easily wider than he was tall. The ground trembled as it hit the ground. He had only barely gotten clear and was unsteady on his feet. As soon as he could he dashed farther away from the golem. It was a near thing each time he was knocked on to the ground from the force of the golem's footfalls, only getting up and moving just in the nick of time. However it was an unchanging pattern of attack. More and more, Kirito found himself some just a little bit more time to catch a breath between his dodges. It was fine, he thought, if this went on unchanged, he could probably escape, he just had to bide his time. But his luck would have none of that. His last dodge had left him right where he had appeared, and where Louise and Kirche had appeared.

They had rounded the corner some time after he had left their company. Of course they were curious about the noise that sounded but even more when it changed noticeably from a periodic muted crash to a true rumble. Kirito didn't have enough of a breath to even yell a warning, his mouth moving but no sound was coming out. Kirche heard him loud and clear, once again vocalising in that shrill voice of hers. Louise only looked at him before catching sight of the massive foot descending upon them. She didn't run like Kirche did, she did the opposite. Extending both her arms, she grabbed a hold of him and pulled to no effect. There was no time to tell her to get away, she wouldn't make it, and more than that, Kirito couldn't make it either. She was in the way and he wasn't sure he could save the both of them, his brief respite interrupted by the whole situation.

The shadow of the golem's foot grew wider. Was this really it, he thought. All that brooding and his new found goal and conviction were for naught. He was just going to die, stepped on like a bug, helpless, both personally and as someone who had promised to protect another. What a lousy familiar I was, he thought, silently apologising to Louise. Death didn't come to claim him again just yet. A mighty gust of wind blew Louise and him out of the path of danger. They flew a great distance and in the time between, he had grabbed a hold of Louise, letting Derflinger leave his grip mid-flight to protect her from their rough landing.

What a landing it was. There was no numbness in it, only a searing pain as he landed on his side with Louise still in his arms. They separated quickly, with Kirito pushing her away with the arm she wasn't crushing.

"Run," he said, "My arm's broken, get out of here."

"No," she declared, "A noble who abandons their familiar is no noble at all."

Kirito wanted to believe his hearing was working fine. Was she concussed from the fall or something, he wondered. Just as he was about to tell her where to stuff that thought of hers, she pulled out her wand and incanted loud and clear,

"Fireball."

Nothing happened, once again. Louise knew it. She was hoping that she could have done something when it counted, like during the familiar summoning, but like usual, it came to naught. As her personal insecurities brought her low, something invisible grazed the golem, taking out a small but noticeable chunk before truly impacting on the academy wall behind it. It was a magnificent demolition of a wall protected by square class magic.

Kirito was astonished at the level of destruction her misaimed spell caused and instead of capitalising on his shock, the golem paid no attention to him. Its rider leapt off and in to the breach, emerging only moments later with something in their arms. So this was supposed to be a robbery, Kirito concluded. Soon after and without much fanfare, the golem dissolved, leaving him alone with Louise once again.


	9. No plan survives first contact

...with the murderous earth golem"

The morning had only brought headaches for Kirito. There were several problems from last night that needed addressing. Some of them concerned Louise but through some stretch also concerned him. She had her moments of kindness, wasn't dumb and was cute as a button but she was also prideful, unskilled in magic and had a few issues. Some of it stemmed from the environment she was raised in. That he could do little about. Pride could be toned down, skill is a result of practice and issues could be resolved. All that was needed was a bit of trust. That was easier said than done of course.

Still, the last spell Louise cast before she broke down in to sobbing about being a failure was highly destructive. It had grazed the golem and hit the wall behind the intended target leading Kirito to believe that Louise wasn't actually that unskilled in magic, it was just that her aim sucked. Convincing her of that could be difficult but it was a good first step to establishing trust. Convincing her to not follow him in to battle could be a bit of a problem if she insisted on his safety however.

Kirito got out of bed, if a pile of hay could be counted as one, and went to the door. Someone was knocking and it wouldn't do to not answer. Louise of course was still sprawled in hers, dreaming of fluffy sheep in a criminally translucent pink nightgown and it didn't seem like she was going to wake up any time soon. He found Siesta the maid waiting on the other side.

"Good morning Siesta," he greeted.

"Good morning Kirito," she replied, "Is your master awake? The headmaster would like to see her before breakfast if possible."

"Is it urgent?" he let Siesta peek in to the room a little.

"Not quite," she said as she spied the sleeping noble, "She must be tired after last night. I'll let the headmaster know."

Siesta was probably right. After having bawled her eyes out, he carried her back to her room with his one functioning arm. Along the way, he was accosted by Siesta who offered to look after her while he went to set his arm straight with the healer and retrieve Derflinger. By the time he got back, Louise was cleaned up, changed and tucked in to bed with Siesta by her bedside. He wanted to give her his thanks in a more tangible form somehow but she insisted that he did not need to do so. Kirito kept his mouth shut and pretended to acquiesce, knowing that he would find a way to make it up to her one way or another.

It didn't take long for Louise to wake up. Still, she was tired, almost incredibly so. However once she got up and started changing out of her nightgown, her morning lethargy started to dissipate. Her familiar was not in the room as she changed and refused to dress her as usual. Once she was changed, Louise found him waiting for her outside. Apparently the headmaster had wanted to see her before breakfast, but at this point it was too late. Louise habitually woke up just in time for breakfast. The old man would have to excuse her from morning classes now, not that going to them would do her any good. She let out a sigh at that thought.

True enough, the headmaster had summoned her along with Kirche and Tabitha. They were the only witnesses to the event that transpired last night. While it was true that Kirito was the one who discovered the thief in the process, he wasn't counted. It didn't come as a surprise to Louise that the name Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt was uttered. What did surprise her was that the Staff of Destruction had been stolen.

All of this went over Kirito's head. The name of neither the thief nor the object stolen held any meaning to him. Besides, the headmaster and the faculty were simply shifting the blame between each other. It was like watching a cutscene you couldn't skip. Hurry up and offer the quest already you old fart, Kirito thought slightly impatiently. It wasn't that he liked skipping flavour text for the quest, sometime they actually had important clues, but this was just a beautiful if not boring bit of sophistry. They were interrupted by the entrance of a new arrival.

"Miss Longueville," the headmaster started dryly, "How delightful of you to join us."

The tone of his voice was laced with sarcasm but his face lightened up a little in a lecherous way.

"I apologise for being late, headmaster," the green-haired woman replied, "I had taken it upon myself to investigate the theft and would like to present to you my findings."

The academy staff looked slightly relieved as if the newcomer's competence were their own.

"What did you find?" the old man asked needlessly.

"I investigated the nearby farms and hamlets. Many witnessed a cloaked figure that looked a little like this had passed by in the night," she held up a parchment that depicted a familiar silhouette, "It seems that she was headed in the direction of an old woodcutter's lodge deeper in to the forest nearby."

The headmaster turned towards the students.

"Do you any of you recognise this?"

It depicted a cloaked figure looking like any other cloaked figure. Yet somehow, Louise and the others seemed to be able to tell. It must have been their local fashion that allowed them to recognise such a thing, Kirito concluded as he saw no relation between the two. If there was a distinguishing characteristic he couldn't see. But now they were getting somewhere once the headmaster started looking for volunteers.

Nobody moved. Not even when the headmaster started offering rewards of fame and fortune for the capture of Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt. The adults seemed reluctant, as if their noble airs were dispelled. Kirito had guessed that perhaps they were fearful, and if no one was going to volunteer then that his cue. Stepping forward once, he spoke,

"I'll do it."

The rest of the room looked at him like had grown a superfluous new appendage. Louise more so in that she was going to say the same thing as he did. He had only beaten her to the punch by a little bit. The room was still catatonic from shock and if anyone was used to, it was Louise herself, master of that troublesome familiar. She took a step to match him, elbowing him a little in the process.

"What my familiar means to say is that Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière and her familiar," she emphasized that last word, "will accept this task."

"Miss Vallière, you are but a child," one of the teachers exclaimed.

It was Professor Chevreuse and after she said it, two gazes were levelled at her. Both of which were not friendly, but rather, accusatory. There was an unspoken question in each of them. Namely, why did you not volunteer yourself then, and, why did you let the theft happen in the first place? The latter was obvious despite the headmaster's attempt to gloss over it.

"Then I shall go as well," Kirche also volunteered, "I shall not be upstaged by the Vallière."

There was going to be another protest before finally a third volunteer presented themselves. It was the dragon rider Tabitha who had thumped on the floor with her staff and presented herself. Of course this got Kirche all hot and bothered, in a friendly way.

"You don't have to," Kirche spoke like a friend to another.

"I worry about you," the dragon rider replied at the level of a whisper, "and you."

That last one was directed at Louise.

"That's right," the headmaster ejaculated, "In addition to being a triangle class mage mademoiselle Tabitha here is a chevalier."

The looks of disbelief shifted from Kirito to Tabitha. Then most of those looks shifted back to relief. It was disgusting he thought of the adults in the room. The headmaster continued.

"But let us not forget that fraulein Kirche is also an accomplished mage, herself descended from a long and ancient lineage of Zerbst. And Miss Louise, who," the headmaster seemed stuck, "who is also from the distinguished lineage of Vallière and possesses a powerful familiar."

"Well of course, he's the Gan," Professor Colbert started before the headmaster's glare killed his sentence.

Kirito took note of it. Whether it was that the headmaster did not enjoy interrupted or the good professor has almost blabbed something worth discovering.

"Yes, that's quite enough Jean," the headmaster chastised, "Miss Longueville, please prepare a carriage to depart as soon as possible. As you are familiar with the terrain, I expect you will be able to lead them there."

"Yes headmaster Osmond," she replied.

Within the hour, the three students, the secretary, as Kirito learned, and a familiar were aboard a horse-drawn wagon departing from academy. It was slow and it was uncomfortable. The students and the familiar sat in the back and the secretary was driving. Not that Kirche had found it uncomfortable, with the way she was aggressively making moves on him. Kirito however had something else on his mind. How was he ever going to break it to Louise that she wasn't completely useless? He could hazard a guess as to why she volunteered for this quest after all. What if he enlisted the aid of the chevalier sitting across from him? He might as well, seeing as he still had no idea how he'd fare against an earth golem. Maybe if he asked the right questions then maybe he'd get Louise involved in the conversation as well.

"What's the plan?" he asked the quiet blue haired girl.

She only stopped reading and looked at him without uttering a word. The gaze held curiosity in it before she uttered something barely above her own breath,

"Find the staff, run from the golem."

Simple and short, but it made sense.

"We can't fight it?" he asked, "Aren't you a chevalier?"

He honestly did not know what being a chevalier entailed but it must be something earned if the adult teachers were shocked by it. Was an earth golem too much for them to handle or was she unable to fight while ensuring the safety of others? Surely being a chevalier must mean that at least she was superior to Louise in some way if not magic.

"Stupid familiar, if a chevalier tells you to run, you take her advice," his master snapped.

What he intended by asking the right questions was if he acted stupid enough then Louise would probably snap at him. Kirito was a bit surprised by it and he turned his gaze to Tabitha again. He got a small nod which led perfectly in to his next question.

"But you scratched it Louise," he started, "and excuse me if I'm wrong but didn't you say you were a failure at magic?"

"I think you're overestimating the Zero darling," Kirche crooned as she snaked her way up his side.

"No I'm not," he almost threw her off, "You cast a spell last night, shouting 'FIREBALL' out loud."

"But it didn't do anything," Louise pouted.

"Yes it did. It chipped off a part of the golem and blew up the academy wall. Otherwise how would you explain that?"

It wasn't exactly a solid argument but it had conviction.

"You can't expect me to believe that the academy wall, enchanted with square-class defences, was brought down by Miss Louise's spell," the secretary chimed in now, "And even if she did, that would implicate her as an accomplice, albeit an unwitting one."

"Then she'll use that power to make up for that," he retorted, "Even if she can only cast it once, she only needs one good hit."

"Then all that remains is to guarantee that hit," the secretary finished, "Is it safe to assume that you will also volunteer for that task, Mr Familiar?"

Kirito only smiled.

"Your confidence in your master is appropriate," Louise started, "but I do not approve. This is beyond the level of Guiche. He is only a dot-class mage. Fouquet is a triangle-class."

"I keep hearing that, what does that mean?" he asked.

"It means that you will die, again," she uttered the last word with some reluctance.

"What this about dying again?" Kirche and the secretary asked.

"It's personal maybe later," he replied before turning back to Louise, "Well think of it this way, you can keep me from harm by destroying that golem with the spell you cast last night just as I keep you from danger by retrieving the staff for us. Besides, even if it was a trap, I can run faster than you."

"You may have a point, but I still don't approve of you going," Louise continued to be stubborn.

"I'll go with him," Tabitha then spoke.

"I won't be alone then," Kirito added triumphantly, "We'll be fine, she's a triangle-class mage right? We should at least be able to stall long enough to escape."

"Don't go using terms you don't even know the meaning of stupid familiar," Louise snapped knowing that she lost her argument.

"Hai, hai," he replied before seguing back in to an old topic, "Will someone tell me what they mean then?"

He was given the abridged version, all mages start at the dot-class, which meant they could power spells with only one instance of an element. Line-class mages can power them with two instances, triangle-class is three, and so on and so forth using basic geometry to denote power levels. Most mages have an affinity to one element and tend to use it exclusively to empower their spell since they all start able to use only that one element. As they increase in power, they can start mixing in other elements or just use more instances of the element that they have an affinity too. It was kind of like multi-core processing if each processor couldn't do multi-threading, Kirito summarised in his head. The discussion of elements of course led to another awkward topic.

"So Louise, what's your elemental affinity?" Kirito finally asked.

"I don't have one," she admitted dejectedly.

Well that certainly put a damper on things, he thought. Louise's gloom had not been dispelled even when they had arrived. Or at least, arrived close enough that they had to proceed on foot and more specifically it was just Tabitha and him. Louise was told to stay put by Kirche, of all people, though it didn't look like she was going to argue. The Germanian didn't seem to want to accompany them to the cottage anyway and was content to watch over Louise whilst secretary Longueville volunteered to circle around the back if necessary. That said he still had some reservations about the whole thing. As far as traps go, this felt just like that time on the 25th floor. Except this time, he was willingly jumping straight in to it.

Behind him, Tabitha walked almost silently. The cottage ahead was exactly as he'd imagined it, small, wooden, a chimney, a few windows and sitting in the middle of a forest clearing. He was about to open the door when the crook of Tabitha's staffed stopped him. Turning around he saw that she was muttering something under her breath. With a small wave of her staff, she spoke,

"No traps."

Kirito grinned sheepishly. Here he was, expecting the worst, that he had forgotten some basic precautions. Fortunately for him, he was alone in that regard. Nothing came flying out as he opened the door slowly and cautiously from the side, Derflinger drawn at the ready. He took that as a good sign and peeked inside. There was nothing dangerous in the cottage, only a disturbed bed, a table with a black box on it and the fireplace. Nodding once, they both entered, sweeping the room with their weapons but there was nothing else that caught their eyes.

Kirito walked up to the black box. He didn't even know what the so called Staff of Destruction looked like but the container seemed like a good place to start. Opening it revealed to him something unbelievable. It was a long tube painted in a drab olive and he ran his fingers over it. Well now he knew how it got its name.

Fouquet was still unaccounted for however and he decided that it was best to leave as soon as possible. Further reflection on how such a weapon found itself in to this magical medieval fantasy hell would be for later. Closing the box he handed it over to Tabitha.

"Take this with you and run," he shouted as the sunlight no longer came in through the windows.


	10. Using the Staff of Destruction

...to cast Black Blast Clear"

Several tons of moving earth was more than enough to crush the tiny cottage. Kirito and Tabitha would have been included in the footprint if it were not for their speed. He didn't know how Tabitha dashed out like the wind but boy did she run. She was almost faster than he was. It took a while for the golem to lift up its foot again and Kirito gave her a look. Cradled in her arms was the box with the Staff of Destruction inside. It was still intact and they should probably keep it that way.

There was no need to verbally communicate as she seemed to take off in the opposite direction as Kirito when the golem finally decided to step on them. With a sharp whistle, a blue-grey dragon swooped down from on high and out of sight, picking up her master Tabitha. The dragon was swift, too fast for the golem to even attempt to follow. There was only one other target down there. Unlike Tabitha, Kirito did not have a dragon despite his mostly useless riding skill and thus had to evade the golem's footsteps by the power of his own two legs.

He ran rings around it. With the sword enchantment keeping him hopped up on the magical equivalent of adrenaline, Kirito could keep this up forever. The golem was slow and cumbersome and with the appropriate timing, would never succeed in squashing him like a bug. Still, he stuck to the plan, trusting that any moment now he would hear 'FIREBALL' being shouted out in the distance and that this whole ordeal would be done and over with.

His faith was rewarded. He didn't hear it, but it was hard to missing the massive boom as stone was simply vaporised in to fine dust and the cracking as the golem fell apart, its integrity being compromised far beyond its capacity to remain upright. A massive hole had been created on its left side before it started to topple over. Kirito didn't waste any time getting out of the way. Sprinting back towards the wagon, he was all smiles when he finally met up with Louise, Kirche, Tabitha and her dragon.

"Thanks Louise," were the words that came out of his mouth before he slumped down on the ground, "I knew I could count on you."

She didn't reply, because she looked, and probably was, exhausted. He too did not say more than that, trying as hard as he could to catch his breath. The one spell had probably taken all her energy, or mana, or whatever they called their reserves, Kirito concluded. A back up plan in case she missed would have been a good thing to have but that was just plain hindsight.

She didn't reply, not because of exhaustion, but because it was the first time anyone had genuinely thanked her for something significant. Shock, of course, was the first feeling, but it had been replaced quickly by warmth and comfort in her heart. She had finally succeeded at something by her own volition. It was true that she wanted a fireball and ended up with an explosion but the important part was that she accomplished what she had set out to do, and what another had expected her to do. In short, she felt great, ecstatic even.

It proved to be short lived. The ground shook once more, the rumbling returned and a familiar shadow was being cast upon them all once again. Rising up and reforming from the very earth itself, the golem once more, stood tall. It was still a ways away from the assembled and secretary Longueville had yet to return. They didn't have the time to fear for her right now though.

Instead of using its foot, the golem swept at them with a giant stone fist. It was near thing as they all scattered in time. Their wagon had no such luck. All that remained of it were splinters. Once more, Kirito took stock of the situation in the time between blows. He didn't think that Louise would be able to aim in such conditions, let alone cast a spell, what with having to dodge constantly. She wouldn't have the time to aim at all and he didn't know which among them held aggro.

The golem's fist was raised again before falling towards him with frightening speed. He held aggro it seemed. That a good and a bad thing, good because he was the target and bad because he had nothing else to fight it with. Or so he thought until he remembered the Staff of Destruction. Tabitha should still have it. Dodging out of the way, he shouted to her,

"Tabitha, the staff, quickly."

She nodded slightly but before she could pass it to him, she because the target of the golem's attentions. Its opposite arm swung at her. Whatever the golem was doing, it wasn't messing about. Consequently the Staff didn't travel very far towards him but it was closer, to him but more so to Louise. Their gazes met as it followed the path of the staff. He shifted his gaze down towards it and she took the hint, picking it up and started running towards him. Cursing, Kirito kicked off the ground as well towards Louise. The golem had changed targets after he spoke. This meant whoever created and controlled the golem was nearby, at least within hearing distance.

By the time he got to her, the golem had seemingly reacquired them as targets. Just perfect, he thought, picking Louise up in his unoccupied arms, ignoring her shrieks and protestations, cradling her like she cradled the package in her own arms. It took him a moment to realise how small Louise really was. She was light, almost as a feather, and wouldn't hinder his movements much. This was a good thing as he leapt out of the path of the oncoming fist.

Louise was grateful for it really, but the indignity overpowered her ability to give thanks.

"Let go of me you ill-mannered barbarian," she spoke as soon as they were out of danger.

Kirito pretended it was their current predicament's fault that he may have held her inappropriately.

"Can you hand me the staff?" he asked.

Louise didn't exactly have a reason to refuse despite it all. She opened the box, expecting it to be some kind of short wooden staff, gnarled beyond all belief. Instead, the box revealed a metallic green rod about a good length of her arm. Upon closer inspection it was a tube of some sort but she didn't quite have the luxury to inspect it further as Kirito took it out of the box. Was he going to use it? He said that he had experience with magic before but to think that he could use the Staff of Destruction was a bit farfetched. Regardless, her familiar grabbed one end of the staff and extended to its full length, fussing over it this way and that before settling it over his right shoulder.

"Stand on my left," he commanded.

She did so as he took another look behind him and shouted,

"Back blast clear," after which he depressed something along the length of the rod.

The next thing she was aware of was the ensuing explosion. It mirrored her own spell earlier and she wondered briefly if her magic was somehow similar to the staff's. The golem became undone once again. Kirito had threaded the shot past the golem's guard which had started to form after he had pointed the staff towards it. The warhead had struck and detonated precisely where it wanted it too, having trusted the assistance the runes had provided him.

They had waited some time before they were sure the golem wouldn't be getting up again and the four of them reconvened at the ruined wagon. The horse that had pulled the cart was still in the area and after a brief search Kirche had managed to locate it. Tabitha and her dragon had landed nearby and were inspecting the remains of the wagon as Louise and Kirito, with the Staff of Destruction and Derflinger slung across his back, sat down to catch their breaths.

Secretary Longueville returned, dishevelled, a few moments later. She had failed in her attempt to apprehend the thief. Well, one out of two wasn't so bad, Kirito thought, though the others may have disagreed with him. As the secretary made her way back to them she picked up the box that the staff had rested in.

"Please take better care of things," she admonished as she reached them, "Now, the Staff of Destruction if you'll please."

Kirito gladly handed it over. Hopefully no one would ask him how he used the staff and how he had expended the only shot it had. The secretary didn't hesitate either as she took it in to her hand. Dropping the box, she brandished it just as he did.

"Weapons on the ground now," the secretary shouted.

Kirito was no stranger to betrayal and even less so when he put the facts together. Who else would be conveniently late to the headmaster's summons? Who else would know where the thief had gone? She was suspicious right from the start if he had any reason to suspect her in the first place. In short, she was the thief.

Around him, the others complied, now knowing full well what kind of fate awaited them. Unlike the others Kirito's hand settled on Derflinger's hilt.

"I must thank you Mr. Agile Familiar for showing me how the Staff of Destruction works," she spoke, "It is such a shame that your usefulness ends here."

"You're welcome, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt," Kirito replied cordially without letting go of his weapon.

"My, my, you truly are a fast one aren't you? Let's see if you're faster than the Staff of Destruction."

Knowing what the runes did to him, Kirito still doubted he could move at 522 kilometres an hour and considering they were so close to each other, he and the rest of the girls would have been gibbed near instantaneously. If there was anything that was going in his advantage it was the fact that she felt it necessary to utter the incantation that supposedly got the Staff of the Destruction to work. He exploited it, drawing and moving before she could even finish the pronouncing the second word. By the end of the phrase the blunt of his sword had connected with her. Slamming in to the space between the left side of her ribcage and hip, the blow was far from lethal though it did cause her to crumple from a sickening angle. The last word had died on her lips.

For a while, nobody said a thing.

"That was reckless," Louise stated.

Kirito smiled unrepentantly as if the joke was on her.

"Don't look at me like that you stupid familiar, you could have gotten us all killed!"

"Hai, hai," he replied finally before stripping Fouquet of her wand, "I knew that it only had one shot so we were never in any danger at all, not that she needed to know that."

Louise just looked at him incredulously.

"Well, looks like we got the staff and the thief, I say we turn this quest in."


	11. And your reward is

...a dance with the Zero in the pale moonlight"

The trip back had given both Louise and Kirito time to think. There was a lot on their minds, even more so when they got back. Ushered in to the headmaster's office, they were partly horrified by the source of the whole incident which was touched off by the old man's shameless indiscretion. He admitted to being played by a pro, never mind the fact that he hired a commoner mage. To Louise, it was a disgrace for him to stoop so low. If he had hired a proper noble then the theft would not have occurred in the first place. Were he not above her station she would have given him a piece of her mind. Kirito, who was by her side was fidgeting, had an altogether different reaction. It was probably due to Kirche who was smirking amusedly and sneaking glances at her familiar now and then. Tabitha remained stoically unreadable as she read another one of her books.

"Which is why I've put you, Miss Louise and fraulein Kirche, forth to receive the title of chevalier," the headmaster somehow arrived at the following conclusion, "And since mademoiselle Tabitha is already a chevalier, I have put her forth to receive the Elven Medallion."

Kirito's name was not mentioned and he wanted to say something about it as the headmaster continued.

"Since we are also holding a Ball of Frigg, I am also making sure that you are all the guests of honour to commemorate your heroic deeds," the headmaster coughed once and turned to the other adult in the room, "Jean, can you please escort the ladies out."

The balding teacher seemed a bit indignant of being reduced to performing such a task. Still, there was no denying the headmaster especially after catching the elder's expression. Kirito did not but he was pretty sure he was reading in between the lines correctly. The headmaster wished to speak to him in private. As the door shut behind them, the headmaster waved his staff about a few times before turning back to him.

"I am sorry, mister familiar. It is due to your station that I cannot reward you as I wish."

"Ah, it's alright, I didn't want that kind of reward anyway, and please Kirito is fine."

"I am relieved mister Kirito," the headmaster seemed evidently so, "But tell me, surely you would like some kind of reward."

"I do, if it's not too much trouble, headmaster," Kirito began.

"As long as it is within reason."

"Answers," Kirito replied and continued at the old man's urging, "I want to know how your Staff of Destruction ended up here."

"It is not its true name," the headmaster supplied, "I simply gave it one when my saviour used one to save me from a dragon."

"The M72 LAW is a fifty, no, sixty year old weapon design in my world," Kirito stated glumly, "I don't think he'd still be here today."

"I'm afraid not," the old man confirmed with a frown of his own, "When he arrived, he sported terrible wounds that our magic did little to heal. Within the week, illness and infection had taken him."

Kirito sighed.

"You wish to return home," Kirito nodded, "If what you say is true then at least there is a connection between your world and ours."

"It could be a one way trip."

"Possibly, but that does not mean it is so," the headmaster spoke encouragingly, "Take heart mister Kirito, if you have yet to find an ally to help you return home, then I will gladly be your first. It is the least I could do for one such as you."

"I never turn away a quest reward," he smiled in return.

"Then perhaps now you can return to your master's side and take your mind off of these troublesome thoughts and enjoy the night."

"Well there is one more thing I wanted to ask."

"Then perhaps you can wait until you complete another quest, hmm?" the headmaster made to usher him out.

"I guess so," Kirito chuckled as he made his way out, "Thank you headmaster."

"It is quite alright," the old man replied, "and Osmond is fine."

The door shut itself gently, leaving a somewhat satisfied Kirito outside. Osmond truly was a wise and kindly old wizard, matching his exterior and despite his flaws, Kirito concluded. He'd made some progress towards his goal, which was better than nothing, and so tonight, he could probably enjoy himself like the old man said he should.

Louise on the other hand was not at peace. There were many questions unanswered for her, about herself and her familiar. The spell she cast wasn't fireball at all. It was simply an explosion. As for her familiar, he had said that he was not from her world and he wielded the Staff of Destruction as if he knew how it was supposed to be used. She wouldn't be surprised if the staff came from his world, if he was telling the truth. He probably, no, definitely wanted to return to his world if he could. What would she be then without him? That and he still refused to dress her. This was special occasion as well. Why did this commoner maid have to be the one to help her instead of him? He was in for a scolding she thought.

"I think it looks perfect for you Miss Vallière," the maid told her as she finished.

Louise recognised the maid as the one that spoke to Kirito. If it were not for that then she probably would not have noticed her at all, especially how much bigger the commoner seemed. It was unfortunate but she was being talked to and it was rude to not reply, even if it was just a commoner.

"I think it shall be wasted on my stupid familiar."

"I may be presumptuous in saying this but I do not think so Miss Vallière."

"Do you have a name?" she asked the presumptuous maid.

"Yes Miss Vallière, it is Siesta."

"Well, Siesta, why do you think so?"

"Because he is a man Miss Vallière," the servant replied cheerfully.

"He will not look at another woman in that way," Louise countered, "He is already married."

Siesta seemed a touch saddened by her declaration. Did the maids too harbour some feelings for her familiar, Louise wondered. She couldn't deny that he was not an affront to the eyes.

"But then he must have admirable qualities if he could court a woman so," Siesta answered after a while.

"Hah, knowing him, he's probably married to an Amazoness of some kind," Louise shot back.

"Yet he is still loyal to her," Siesta sighed.

"Truly admirable if he were not my familiar," she huffed, "His loyalty should be to me, his master."

"Are you perhaps jealous?"

"Hah, me? Jealous of a commoner like him?" Louise quickly denied it, "And no more of that talk or I'll have you whipped for slander."

"My apologies, Miss Vallière," Siesta hastily apologised and bowing, "It was a slip of the tongue, it shall not happen again."

"See that it doesn't."

"Enjoy the ball."

Louise only grunted and left her room.

Kirito wasn't as surprised as he wished he would be. The ball room, which was separate from the dining hall, was just about the same size. It was round and on a higher floor, decorated with panelled wood instead of plain stone. The lighting was provided by candles suspended from invisible chandeliers. Well, it wasn't exactly invisible, more transparent since when viewed at certain angles their outlines were visible.

The other students milled about in groups, their own little cliques, and gossiped about this or that. Kirito hazarded that they would be talking about the apprehension of Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Tabitha, who had secluded herself in the corner of the room with a plate laden with food, casually ignoring the whole socialising aspect. Kirche was on the opposite end of the room, surrounded by a gaggle of boys, some of whom he recognised from a while ago. They never do learn do they, he thought to himself. That left only one other guest of honour, his master, who had not yet arrived it seems.

It was as he we searching that he bumped in to another familiar face. The face was suitably less than friendly.

"Watch where you're going commoner."

"Sorry."

"You better be."

Guiche de Gramont still had an attitude and the look he threw at Kirito was a step down from a glare. No doubt because of the sword on his back. Kirito returned the gaze though with a much more neutral and inquisitive expression. Thankfully the staring contest did not last long.

"Is once not enough for you Gramont?" Kirche interrupted, "Then again, you always were quick."

"This doesn't concern you Zerbst," Guiche replied.

"Oh?" Kirche seemed pensive as she sneakily caught Kirito in her grasp, "Both darling and I are guests of honour."

"You're not a very good liar Zerbst. I bet he did nothing but fret over his useless master."

It was insulting, as it was meant to be. Kirito had only wanted to enjoy the evening. Now his cheerful mood had been ruined. It would have been complete if it were not for Kirche's laughter.

"The Zerbst embellish, exaggerate and imply Gramont, but we never lie," the Germanian replied.

With that comment, she dragged him off for a dance. He didn't mind until Kirche mentioned that Louise was probably going to kill him for allowing her to have the first dance with him. The classical music seemed much more ominous now.

"Honestly, she could stand to be a lot less frigid," Kirche had remarked.

That was true, Kirito thought, spying Louise as she joined the ball. Her dress was creamy, held in place by the shoulders and was wavy below her waist. With the matching gloves and hair decorations that pinned up her hair in to a ponytail, she truly looked like a doll. It was a shame that there was scowl on her face whenever she looked at him. Excited by her arrival, Kirche soon broke off and tried to engage in a conversation with the Vallière, only to be rebuffed, as she rebuffed many of her other male classmates. It didn't stop the Germanian in the slightest. Kirito wondered idly, as he made his way to the open air balconies, why he never did notice Kirche's green number until now.

The moons were barely out but it did provide a little bit of illumination. He stood at the edge of the balcony basking in the cool night air and the pale light as the ball's orchestral accompaniment seeped through the entrance behind him. Certainly more enjoyable than having to interact with other stuck up nobles though the waltz with Kirche, while awkward, was also enjoyable in its own way. It wasn't long until that pleasant thought was dispelled.

"We were not finished talking," his diminutive master joined him at the edge.

"Hai, hai," he replied resigned.

Though Louise said that, she was at loss at what to talk to him about. She had contemplated on what she knew and had reached her own conclusions. However, giving voice to them now seemed scary all of a sudden. He wanted to return to his homeland, to his wife and daughter that awaited him. Knowing that someday he probably would, leaving her back where she started as the Zero. She didn't want that.

"I'm still here you know," his voice shook her.

"Then," she hesitated, fumbling inwardly before finally saying it, "Don't leave me."

"Not when you're like this," he smiled reassuringly.

She couldn't tell she was crying until she tasted her own tears. His words spelled it out for her. He was leaving, but not quite yet. There would be a time when they were going to part. The thought was, as ever, frightening.

"But our contract," she finally eked out.

"I just need to help you right?" he asked, echoing words spoken a few days ago.

It was a familiar's duty after all.

"I haven't found a way back yet," he continued, "But even then, I don't think I can leave until I've helped you."

She didn't know how he could such a thing but the words were comforting. His tone conveyed a promise. It would have to do for now, she thought. He was going so far for her despite his own wishes, beyond mere duty. Though duty was often its own reward, she offered him her hand.

"A dance?" he asked.

She nodded. It was the first time she felt his touch out of her own volition. His hand was warm, as if forging a bond in times of peace, and it reassured her as his words had done while they danced the night away.


	12. Post-Volume Interlude I: Soul Searching

The emergence of such a portal had a profound impact on the researchers at RATH. Screw the development of combat worthy artificial intelligences. A portal that spontaneously manifested and transported matter was much more important. It happened as they were starting up their STL device. The representation of the boy's, Kirigaya Kazuto's, soul itself was made manifest in their machine yet when he interacted with it his physical body too was spirited away. Philosophical implications aside, these were mostly military researchers mind, there was a huge commotion about this heretofore undiscovered feature in their STL technology. Project Alicization was put on hold, the current state of the Underworld suspended until further notice and all their computing resources were directed at analysis. Taking apart the video frame by frame and video by video, the scientists hoped for a way they could replicate the portal and study it.

However, for Yuuki Asuna, it there was nothing else that she could do. She stood in the room that Kirito had occupied until he was whisked away once again by the cruel hand of fate. It was the same as if he died. He was where she could not reach. If she was at all interested in the portal, it was because she did not know where it led, let alone if Kirito survived the trip. Perhaps he could not cheat death a third time. Old arcade games of an age long gone usually started the player with three lives after all. For now, she felt trapped at the Ocean Turtle, less like a prisoner and more like someone who did not know where else to go. Kirito had set on a path before their parting, a path she was willing to accompany him on.

Besides, so far, most of the scientists had agreed to keep their discovery a secret for now. They wanted it to be low-key until they could determine that it was all not just a bad case of mass hysteria. Asuna too had seen the video footage, had seen the frame by frame analysis of the portal, the seemingly distorted green mass yielding no clues at all.

Wait.

Distorted.

It was a distortion.

It was something the researchers had yet to try. She had rushed back to where Kikuoka and Koujiro-sensei were stumped over a conference table.

"It's distorted," she said.

Kikouka gave her a look.

"Why not? Pass it through a few filters and maybe it'll start making sense," another voice, Higa, said and went to work.

"We already spent the better part of the week looking for patterns, might as well do something different," Kikuoka seemed to agree.

"Well, would you look at that," Higa finally concluded, "Looks like it was a gravitational distortion of light after all."

Asuna stared at the screen as the image became clearer. It was tinted green but the surface was unmistakably pockmarked. It looked like a flat surface had been subjected to some weathering impacts. Judging by the craters and gullies, she was probably looking at a picture of the moon. No, not the moon, this was the surface of a moon.

* * *

-Author's Notes-

"When in Rome…"

I honestly didn't think I'd dabble in this kind of stuff but I've already broken a taboo I set for myself years ago so I think the transition towards actually posting here would be a logical development. Anyways, first time publisher here. Glad to see I picked up some readers who will agree to accompany me but that's the way the site works I suppose. Some reviews were helpful as a good kick in the arse is meant to be. Others were as useful to me as a handjob. It sure makes me feel good but ultimately accomplishes nothing of import. The rest were silly. Before I go any further I should probably also mention, RIP Yamaguchi Noboru. Hopefully he won't rise from the grave to enact unholy vengeance upon me, not that I am not going to go hell anyway.

Astute readers will also have noticed that while I started at volume 1 of ZnT, I decided to pick up Kirito at around volume 9, if the Project Alicization wasn't a dead enough giveaway. The reason for this is because I have a plan, a poorly thought out one but a plan nonetheless. If I were to use a simile, the story is a train that has left the station and will eventually come to stop. Whether it ends up as a flaming wreck or not still remains to be seen. This obviously ties in with my finding some reviews, which masquerade as a plot suggestion than an actual review, silly. Astute and cynical readers will also posit correctly that I chose this crossover specifically because there has been no "pure replacement" crossover and that I felt it somehow necessary for me to be the first figurative lemming of this particular cliff. Astute readers who have combed this website will correct me as someone has indeed beaten me to the punch except it is only one chapter long so that clearly doesn't count.

In any case I'm hoping there will be some following at the next volume's conclusion, granted they forgive my attempt to shoehorn interaction between the two verses. That and doing as Romans do because apparently a lot of authors like these little notes of theirs. I like to think I'm a bit more reserved, if not a bit pretentious at times.

Regards,

The Author


	13. A Black Swordsman in the White Country 1

"Last night I had a dream about you..."

The problem with sleeping in the same room as Louise, as Kirito found out to his dismay, was that she tended to talk in her sleep. Granted it wasn't that loud but occasionally he'd wake up to her mumbling about something to or another in the middle of the night and it made falling back asleep harder because it seemed like she was talking to someone else, mostly about marriage. She never really did seem aware of it but it wasn't a big deal so Kirito kept quiet. Besides, what was he going to do? Talk to Derflinger about it? He'd rather try and go back to sleep so that he didn't actually have to take naps during the day.

The problem with having a familiar like Kirito was that, despite his enthusiasm in training, read repeatedly thrashing Guiche, and accompanying her when she needed him was that he liked to take naps whenever he could. Not that there was anything wrong with taking naps. She found it amusing when he'd been caught napping in the shade of the Vestri courtyard when a spring shower hit. Otherwise, he would usually catch forty winks in the classes he did attend with her, read when the weather was unpleasant henceforth, slumped in the corner with a gaggle of other familiars around him doing much the same. That in itself wasn't strange she supposed, they were familiars after all. What was strange was how he talked in his sleep, mumbling something like a name, over and over again. Nobody dared to wake him, remembering the last time Guiche tried and how he nearly lost a hand doing so, and thus the professors usually cast a temporary silencing spell and life went on.

Today, Louise and Kirito were sitting in class in one of the towers as it had rained the night before. It was morning though the teacher had yet to arrive. Kirito of course, sat by the windowsill, as did most of the other familiars, some of which he was very comfortable with. Louise sat closer to the middle, towards the entrance, coincidentally beside Kirche and Tabitha. The former was attempting conversation with Louise, who had for the most part resisted her attempts fearing her ancient enemy was conspiring against her. Tabitha did what she did best, keep silent and read while still somehow being fully aware of her surroundings.

It wasn't long before a professor showed up, showing off her mastery of the Wind by snuffing out Kirche, and went on the wax lyrical about her chosen element. Her droning was just the right kind of white noise, Kirito thought as he made himself comfortable. Unfortunately, before he could even drift off professor Colbert barged in to the room. What caught Kirito's attention was the toupee on his head and the somewhat fancier robe. The professor was a bit flustered but otherwise didn't seem apologetic for barging in like he did.

"Classes are cancelled," he declared simply in between gasps of breath.

The entire classroom looked at him. Most of them were overjoyed, they ones that didn't seem to share the teacher's opinion on the wind element whilst the teacher herself seemed a little indignant.

"Headmaster's decree," Colbert added, "Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Henrietta de Tristain shall be gracing us with her presence later today, and thus classes are cancelled."

After that quick tirade he bent over to suck in another big breath of air which meant that the toupee he wore fell off his head.

"Ah, shiny," Tabitha remarked at the distraction that tore her from her book.

Most of the students burst in to laughter. Even Louise herself didn't seem above a snicker or two.

"Oh dear, you really do know when to speak," Kirche managed in her mirth.

"Silence," the mostly bald professor shouted.

Silence did he obtain.

"We'll have no more of that when Her Royal Highness arrives," he scolded the mischievous faces before him, "Carry your selves like nobles and behave."

With that, he quickly grabbed his toupee off the floor and stormed out. Soon, the silence was dispelled and the students filed out slowly. As the Her Royal Highness had deigned to visit, many amongst them felt the need to improve their appearances. They ones that didn't could be counted on one hand. Kirche and Tabitha were foreign students and the arrival of the Tristainian Crown Princess wasn't something to get worked up about. They doubted that the Crown Princess wouldn't even notice them, let alone hold conversation with them. Kirito on the other hand didn't actually have any other clothes and it'd take too long to clean himself off.

Thus, he went about his normal routine of practicing the motions of his sword skills in the courtyard. He didn't use Derflinger knowing he'd tired himself out needlessly now that he had an inkling of what his runes did to him. Instead he used wooden sticks. Seeing as there was time, he went through each and every one of them that he remembered over several dozen times. That included the ones he never used himself during his time in the floating castle. It couldn't hurt to remember them in case of emergencies.

Kirito had gotten to know his sword a bit better. The rust that caked Derflinger had flaked off, leaving more of its dull dark grey steel showing through. He hadn't made any attempts at cleaning Derflinger, partially because he didn't know how and he didn't have the tools needed for it anyway. When asked about it, Derflinger simply replied that it was probably the enchantments he possessed regaining power through battle. Kirito couldn't tell what those enchantments were but he sensed he was on the cusp of discovering something important about the sword.

Likewise, the sword was surprised when he finally wielded two sticks as he went through the motions.

"Ho ho, so you can use two swords partner?" it said teasingly, "I thought what he had was special."

"If it makes you feel better Derf, I don't think I'll be using a second sword any time soon," Kirito replied between blows.

"Hah, I don't mind sharing you partner," Derflinger seemed to chortle a bit, "As long as you can still use sword skills."

"I should be able to. Would it be bad if I didn't?"

"Well, no," the sword replied, "But I'm a sword partner, the greatest one ever forged. I can sense the air as I move through it or when you speak. Along with biting in to your enemies, it's all I'll ever feel. I am old, partner, so I had time to think about it. Happiness for me is to do what a sword is meant to do. Now that I am rusty and blunt, the only time when I regain my edge is when you use your sword skills. The very air itself parts for me as I cut through and not even magic can stop me."

"Your sword is strange as ever," another voice spoke.

"Ah Guiche," Kirito greeted.

It had become a common sight to find the two interacting in the mornings. Granted it wasn't a friendly interaction. Guiche held a grudge, that was obvious to see, and he obviously used every means necessary possible to slight Kirito. For Kirito, the insults were like water off a duck's back. He paid it no mind and Guiche would usually escalate in to a physical fight one way or another. After a while Guiche just stopped with the provocation and proceeded straight to the fighting.

It was how both of them got to know each other better. If there was anything Kirito learned it was that Guiche was a stubborn and tenacious opponent, much like he was. The only end to their fights was when Guiche lost consciousness. Even then, Guiche refused to admit defeat. He was not aware he lost, thus it did not count, regardless of what others may try to say. Guiche for his part had learned, slowly and painfully, how to fight better even though he never won. The strange part was that never once did he resort to his magic outside of creating his own sword. Kirito, likewise, never used Derflinger, judging his two sticks enough to keep the other boy in check. They both surmised that there was a small bit of pride that went with their decisions. Guiche wanted to beat Kirito at his own game, and Kirito wanted to use his own strength.

"Here to have another go?" Kirito asked.

"I do not wish to be unkempt for Her Royal Highness," Guiche answered and eyed him, "You though, are a blight upon the eyes and a disgrace to your master."

"Hey now, leave Louise out of this," he complained.

"A familiar's appearance reflects their master," Guiche countered.

"Well you do kinda look like a mole, I guess."

Kirito had seen Guiche's familiar before, a giant mole called Verdandi. It was brown, striped and well groomed, as much as a subterranean rodent could be anyway and shared some qualities with Guiche. They both had an eye for gems, though in Guiche's case said gems were more figurative than literal, and they both went to great lengths for them.

"I'm going to cut you," Guiche replied.

A familiar sword formed in his hand.

"I didn't mean it as an insult!"

"Then I'll teach you to watch your tone commoner."

Thus Kirito and Guiche's daily routine repeated itself.

It was a while before Kirito returned to Louise's room. He was drenched in sweat, his practice swords were little more than toothpicks at this point. Guiche was starting to learn the pattern behind his sword skills. Guess I'll have to mix it up a bit more, he thought to himself as he found something to wipe off his sweat. Louise wasn't back yet. The girl had started to spend more time in the library after the Ball of Frigg. He already knew the reason, well, not exactly, but he'd bet he did. There was no reason to ask anyway.

The reason Louise had secluded herself in the library was because she had proof, proof of her own magic. She had seen what she could do when she finally opened her eyes to it, and what she saw was irrefutable. It wasn't like those times she spent fruitlessly searching for a spell she could cast. There was a spell she could cast. She knew what it did, or what it looked like it did, and all she had to do was find something matching that description to learn more. It had been hard going so far but things just didn't happen overnight like she wished it did. Most of her free time was taken up by the search and she even ignored library hours just to have more time to look. Professor Colbert put a stop to that when he caught her.

Louise yawned. The searching was starting to tire her out. Over and over again the texts regurgitated useless magical theory at her. There wasn't anything she didn't already know in these books and her thoughts started to wander off. Meandering through her mind, they started to arrive at the same issue. It was about the recurring dreams she had. In it, she was lying asleep in the arms of her fiancée. The locations always changed, in her familial garden, or on a lake, but the content stayed the same. Amidst her daydreaming she idly wondered what it meant.

Louise didn't have much time to do so however as she was soon alerted by the other students to the arrival of Her Royal Highness. Her escorts had just been spotted on the main road to the academy. Louise wouldn't dare miss this for the entire world. Closing the tome she was reading, she left the library.

The majority of the student population milled about the main entrance to the academy grounds proper. Many of them had dressed nicely, as nice as the student uniform would allow. There was a small group that had in fact, not bothered to look too good. They consisted of Louise herself, her familiar, Guiche, Tabitha and Zerbst. It wasn't hard to come up with reasons for them. Zerbst never really did care for the country that was playing host to her education whilst Tabitha was more occupied with the book she perpetually had in hand. As for herself, she didn't have the time to change due to her research. The boys however, looked like they'd gone through the same old routine. At least Guiche was, since he looked like he was beaten unconscious as he usually was. Then again, it wasn't like her familiar had any other clothing to change in to. She guessed he was called the "Black Swordsman" because of his manner of dress, rather than any fault of his character. Even though he did have faults, they weren't exactly fitting of the moniker.

"You should at least wear your sword for this," she tiredly greeted her familiar.

"Tired?" he asked.

"Her Royal Highness will be here soon, I can take a nap later."

She was right, the murmuring died down as Her Royal Highness' escort finally came in to view. At the head of the convoy came the Royal Musketeers, the princess' personal guard regiment. They were followed by Her Royal Highness' own carriage, white and gilded gold pulled by similarly adorned white stallions. Bringing up the rear were the Gryphon Knights, Tristain's finest amongst nobility and the pinnacle of their military.

It was there when she saw him. He was styled like the other Gryphon Knights, clothing dyed deep blue from the imported northern Albion Woad and emblazoned with the order's symbol, the Gryphon. The multiple white plumes on his hat that denoted rank allowed Louise to notice him. It was her fiancé Viscount Wardes. What more was that he had ridden at the side of Her Royal Highness herself. Perhaps he had distinguished himself recently but no noble in their right mind would refuse such an honour. Her heart had started to beat against her chest as his blue eyes caught her gaze.

The assembled students crowded around the carriage as it made its way to the front of the main academy building itself. A red carpet was rolled out, followed shortly by the headmaster and crowd held their breath as the carriage's door opened. Out stepped a frail old man who was thin as a reed and clothed in red. There was a small bit of an uproar as they recognised him as Cardinal Mazarin. The cardinal almost flinched at his reception but he was a statesman and was well accustomed to such treatment. It was finally when he descended that held out his hand that the crowd once more held their breath.

Kirito too was sucked in by the atmosphere created by the collective. The anticipation was near tangible in the air. This wasn't just anyone he was going to see step down from the carriage, this was actual royalty. Taking the hand of the old man who had descended before her came Her Royal Highness. She was clad in a white dress adorned with sapphires and cloaked in purple velvet. Her complexion was fair, like Louise, her eyes were like the jewels in her clothes and the tiara that rested on her hair, the colour of which matched her cloak. As for her figure, well, if Kirito thought Kirche was nobility then Her Royal Highness was definitely royalty, even if she wasn't taller than he was. She descended with graceful, dainty little steps as she took the elder man's hand, her other occupied by sceptre. Every movement was reserved to disrupt her poise as little as possible. It was fitting for someone in charge of such a sizable country. Many of the hormonally charged males followed her with their eyes as if their pupils had a skip in their step.

Kirito did also notice, however, that members of the fairer sex were similarly distracted, not by the thinly old man by the princess' side but by a rider atop a steed made up of different animal parts. It was a man, most likely an elite guard of some kind with a chiselled jaw, silky blond hair and a handsome face. He bore a smile born of confidence though it did seem a little smug as he gazed in Kirito's direction. It wasn't Kirito the man was looking at but it was close. Kirito suspected he was looking at Louise but for the life of him did not know why. He didn't even have the time to think about it as Louise seemed to melt like butter in to his arms. The other noble ladies similarly swooned.

Was the man really that dreamy, Kirito wondered.


	14. A Black Swordsman in the White Country 2

"It's been much too long..."

The night fell almost as suddenly as Louise's mental capacity earlier. It was past the time for supper when she awoke. Of course Kirito had brought her back to her room though he was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Another moment and Louise noticed that she was still in her school uniform. Scrambling out of bed, it was not proper to be in bed with day clothes, Louise debated whether she should go out in search for sustenance or change and just go back to sleep.

She didn't really feel hungry at all though. Her stomach was still aflutter from meeting her fiancée's gaze. He was as dashing as usual. Just seeing him personally escorting Her Royal Highness had been unexpected it wasn't that bad. Or maybe he had planned it, one of many vaunted surprises that he had promised when they first met in her childhood. Well she was definitely surprised. It was so surprising that just the thought of him set her heart to a maddening pace. Her blouse smelled strangely. I must have sweated a lot in my sleep, Louise concluded. A word with her familiar for refusing to undress and dress her seemed in order.

The thought however died as she recalled the strange master-familiar relationship they shared. He still a commoner, that much was true, but he did not quite show the appropriate level of respect she wished he did. That said he didn't look down on her either. In fact he seemed to consider her as just a normal girl her age as if her magic and its attached noble title were irrelevant. It finally dawned on her why he refused to undress or dress her.

He viewed her as a woman, as much as it didn't make any sense for a familiar to do so. Then again, most familiars were not humans. While she was having the revelation another thought followed. What would her fiancée say if he knew? What did he think of her youthful indiscretion? Would he think her a loose woman and break off their engagement? It was a scandal in the making. Louise trembled and not because she was shivering in just her underwear and sweating profusely. The shame would probably kill her.

Normally she would have never thought about it but she never did think about such things before, even when she was young. Why were things so much more problematic now? She was soon dragged out her fears and worries by a knock at the door. With a startled yelp she turned towards it.

"Who is it?" she asked waveringly.

"Room service," came the reply.

She wasn't quite sure what that meant.

"Wait do they even have such a thing?" the voice continued, "Ah well whatever, it's just me Kirito."

The door handle turned.

"Wait," Louise stammered, her earlier thoughts returning, "I'm changing."

The door didn't open, much.

"Oh," Kirito's voice carried in from the crack, "Just tell me when you're done. I brought dinner."

It didn't take her long to change. In fact she was faster than normal. Kirito entered with a tray of still warm soup and bread. Depositing it down on the table, his arms were soon filled with laundry instead. With another one of his nonchalant affirmations Kirito soon stepped back through the doorway though he didn't make it far. He had bumped in to someone.

"Ah, sorry," he apologised reflexively.

Standing in the doorway was a hooded figure.

"I too apologise," the voice was female.

Louise recognised the voice.

"Let her in quickly," she told Kirito, "and close the door behind you."

Kirito went along with her if it meant he didn't have to leave right now. He wanted to know who this mysterious woman was. Her hood was actually a cloak, brown burlap, and it surrounded much of her clothing and obscured her face. It was her greeting after he closed the door that surprised him.

"Oh my dear Louise, it has been much too long."

Her hood came off, revealing the royal beauty beneath it. Though she was without some of her accessories, he could tell instantly who she was, Her Royal Highness. That she was here made him wonder what kind of relationship they had. Louise had dropped on to her knee as the princess revealed herself. He wondered whether he should do the same.

"It has only been a few years Your Highness," Louise returned.

"A few years too long," the princess sighed, lifting Louise to her feet and giving her a hug, "And you promised to call me by name Louise."

Louise remained silent.

"And, who is this?" the princess continued, "Are you trying to make your fiancée cry? Oh please do tell me."

She was cheery, he thought. Louise glared at him, perhaps he should have knelt in the first place but it was a bit too late now. Or perhaps it was the mention of her fiancée, he wasn't sure. Still it wouldn't do to keep silent.

"I'm Kirito." "He's my familiar."

They had replied at the same time. Her Royal Highness had separated from Louise and turned her head to look at Kirito before returning her gaze back to Louise. A few more looks between them and she seemed to come to a conclusion.

"I see," the princess approached and held out her hand, "I am Crown Princess Henrietta de Tristain but just Henrietta is just fine. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

A handshake, Kirito wondered. He supposed that it was a normal for them. Taking her hand in his, he shook it and bowed.

"Kirigaya Kazuto, Kirito to my friends and same here" he replied before quickly tacking on, "Your Highness."

The two noble girls looked at him like he grown a second head. Louise ended up sighing, almost in relief, and the princess smirked as if holding back laughter as she returned his bow with a curtsy.

"I must thank you for keeping my dear Louise safe as well Ser Kirito," she said.

"No problem," he replied.

"Forgive his impoliteness," Louise spoke, "He hasn't been taught manners yet Your Highness."

"Oh Louise, I have come here as a friend," the princess sighed, "To get away from all that stiff courtly propriety and all such worries."

"I've only had the fortune of being Your Highness' playmate," Louise was embarrassed, "To ask for more would be terribly selfish of me."

It was at that declaration that an awkward silence descended. The silence wasn't that stifling however as the princess and his master had spoken their pieces. Quickly, he had to think of something to break the silence before it became unbearably uncomfortable.

"So Louise," he started and she gave him another look, "You're engaged?"

"What of it?" she seemed to snap at him.

"Well I didn't know. I hope I'm not going to be a problem."

"Well, familiars aren't usually like you so I don't know."

He brought back her back to the thoughts she'd been having before the princess showed up. Truly their relationship could be construed as scandalous.

"So you are going to break your fiancée heart," the princess concluded.

"Absolutely not," Louise stammered and pointed at her familiar, "He's already married."

"To seduce a married man," the princess smiled, "Oh Louise Françoise, how bold you have grown in my absence."

"There is absolutely nothing of the sort between us," Louise was rather vehement in her denial, "We are master and familiar."

The princess chuckled lightly.

"I know, my dear Louise, I know. I was just teasing you," the princess said with a small sigh.

Kirito picked up on it.

"Huh, is there something wrong princess?"

"Oh no, it is nothing."

Her reply was a bit hesitant and now it was Louise who noticed it too.

"If you are worried, or troubled, please do not hesitate to share them with me Your Highness," Louise offered, "I will do my best to get rid of them for you."

"My troubles are not a great concern my dear Louise but I am thankful for your consideration."

"Henrietta," Louise's tone changed as she uttered the name, "We are friends are we not?"

"Ah when you call me by my name," the princess sighed again, "Very well I shall confide in you a little bit."

Louise was pleased somewhat and clasped Henrietta's hand in hers. She was offering as much support as she could, to not only a friend but also her Royal Highness the Crown Princess. It was one of the highest honours in the land, as she was told. They were right, she felt a bit of pride but also certainly happiness in it.

"I had gone to Germania to meet their Emperor."

Louise scowled.

"Now now Louise, do not fret," the princess pouted a little, "I know of your family feud but it is not with the Zerbst that I had met."

Thus pacified, the princess continued.

"I am to marry him."

Once again Louise was shocked.

"Congratulations," Kirito chimed in.

She gave him another good glare and his expression changed swiftly from congratulatory to apologetic.

"You must understand my dear Louise. Our country is small and we need allies to help protect the peace. With the uprising in Albion, we must look to our defences lest we become another victim."

"But that's not what's really troubling you," Kirito pointed out.

"No, no it is not Ser Kirito, it is partly the cause," the princess replied before asking Louise, "Do you remember Wales?"

"You mean Prince Wales?" Louise asked, "The one we fought over terribly in that rose garden at the palace?"

"So you do remember," Henrietta was pleased, "He and I are good friends now and we keep in touch through letters."

"Embarrassing letters are nothing to be afraid of," Kirito tried to reassure her.

"No they are not," the princess smiled before once again frowning, "It is the possibility that they be revealed that is troubling. It would undermine my marriage and thus our alliance with Germania."

"Then we just need to go find them," Louise stated.

Kirito came to the same conclusion but perhaps was not as eager as Louise when it came to doing so. Though it looked like a simple fetch quest in theory, he knew it would hardly be that simple in execution.

"I am happy that you would suggest doing so for me," the princess smiled.

"I am not suggesting Henrietta," Louise was adamant, "I will go find those letters for you and I will succeed in doing so or my name is not Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière."

Princess Henrietta was silent at the declaration. The choice weighed heavily on her mind. There was a necessity in it but it was also unfortunate that the only one she could entrust the matter to was also the only person she could confide in.

"Are you aware of what is happening in Albion?" the princess seriously asked.

"You said something about an uprising?" Kirito answered in lieu of his now silent master.

"While many like to call it such, it is regrettably more fitting to call it a civil war," the princess paused for effect, "You see now why I am so reluctant to let you go Louise Françoise? The ungrateful nobles of Albion have turned their backs on the royal family of Albion. Even now Wales fights the last few battles that he can and we all fear for the worst for he is the last of his line."

Henrietta was quite resigned. It was almost if she talked of more than just a friend. Then again most nobility were distantly related to each other in some way shape or form. Louise would know. She was a distant cousin to the crown princess after all. However, the task that Her Royal Highness had outlined was more than just a favour for a friend. It was also of great importance to the realm.

"If it serves not only you, Your Highness, but also by extension our country then I would gladly be of service," Louise replied.

"If I cannot dissuade you then at least I shall instruct you on your task," the princess gave in.

Before she could speak further there was a small thump against the door. Louise looked to Kirito almost approvingly as he had remembered to lock to the door as soon as he had closed it. However, the possibility of an eavesdropper could not be denied. She gave him a small nod as he drew his sword, taking position between the door and Her Royal Highness. The door almost came off its hinges with the force that Kirito used to fling it open. He had moved fast, as fast as she knew he could, lunging out in to the hallway. It was only after a small spell of scuffling did he return with a silent but unashamed Guiche de Gramont by the collar. Louise should not have been surprised but despite it she somehow was when the words came out of his mouth.

"Please let me accompany Louise," he practically begged.

The princess seemed to recognise the fool Louise saw.

"Ah, are you by chance General Gramont's son?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Guiche quickly affirmed, "I am honoured by your recognition."

"Then I hope you can contribute your inherited skills to our task."

Louise sighed. At most he would contribute his lechery she thought inwardly. It was certain he wasn't accepting the task for the future Queen and country for chaste reasons.

"Gladly, if you'll permit Your Highness."

His acceptance seemed to have a note of finality to the whole affair since it was a few days later that they found themselves on the road towards La Rochelle outside the capital. Her Royal Highness had made clear that they were to wait for another to join their party before departing for Albion. Other instructions included that they, specifically Louise, were to find Prince Wales at Newcastle and present to him the Ruby of Water that the princess had entrusted to them so that he may relinquish possession of the letter they needed to retrieve. That and they were to return safely and hopefully without an international incident in their wake. She could have easily added for them to bring back Wales safely but it was more than likely that he would not abandon his country even as it fell apart around him.

It hadn't been long but they had decided to tie their horses up by the side of the road, if only to stretch their legs and get rid of the sores they had been saddled with. Kirito was lying by the tree as Louise paced about, staying just out of reach of Verdandi. As for Verdandi's master, he was busy inspecting a field of flowers nearby. All in all, they didn't quite look like they were waiting for anyone.

Their new party member however, soon arrived on a mighty gust of wind. It was the steed that first caught their attention as it landed. The head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, it was a recognisable form to every child of Tristain, the griffon. That meant that the new arrival was at the very least a Griffon Knight. It was a surprise sure but even more so for Louise when she got a good look at the rider. Resplendent in his noble trappings, their gazes met once again, and for Louise, time stood still.

"Ah my dear Louise," a rich and deep voice intoned, "it has been far much too long."

Then Verdandi caught up and tackled her.


	15. A Black Swordsman in the White Country 3

"One more time..."

By the time they had arrived in La Rochelle, the last ferry to Albion had departed. Evening was approaching and no ship dared to set sail in the middle of the night. The chance for an accident was much higher and when an accident happened, it was usually more than fatal for those on board. Of course it would be, Kirito thought, they were flying ships the size of buildings.

La Rochelle was a port carved out of rock. The limestone that built it was hewn from the very cliffs it was nestled in. Guiche had of course tried to impress him of the power of earth mages that fashioned the town. They had sculpted many of the buildings true, but the port facilities were built the old fashioned way, with some simple tools and a lot of elbow grease. What did impress Kirito was the fact that it was an airport. It was the second thing to notice after seeing the cliffs carved in to dwellings.

The ships themselves resembled ships-of-the-line from the late 18th century, complete with cannon size designated by the weight of their shot. Flight was possible due to the wind enchanted crystals and supplied only a marginal amount of propulsion. Massive masts rose from the decks from military and civilian ships alike. Few had familiars or access to flight capable beasts when burdened with human beings. That and air travel bypassed the trouble posed by highwaymen entirely and was also generally faster.

To be fair, air travel also had its own set of problems. Accidents in the air like wind crystal failure, a common cause of most "sinkings" so to speak, meant that only those with flight magic had any chance for survival. It also went without saying that most of the ship's crew were not mages, save for the captain and his direct subordinate officers. Even then, a captain and his crew would usually go down with the ship. Death was preferable to the shame of abandoning their posts, or so the saying goes.

Guiche had of course written off sailors and airmen as a generally insane lot. Serving aboard a ship was like serving time in a prison and with a chance of dying all manners of horrible deaths. In a prison, one was at least fed, clothed and sheltered with a chance of being pardoned. He much preferred to keep his feet on the ground.

"Hmph, if you didn't like flying so much then perhaps you should not have come at all Gramont," Louise hissed.

"Now now Vallière, don't mistake my dislike of ships as a dislike of flying," Guiche replied.

They group had booked rooms for the night at an inn and were enjoying dinner at the ground floor brasserie.

"How does that work anyway?" Kirito was curious, "Personal flight that is?"

"What's the point?" Guiche countered, "It's not like you'd be able to fly."

"I mean the first day I was here you guys flew off like it was nothing so I was wondering why you don't do it more often."

"Well of course I shouldn't have expected a commoner like you to know better," Guiche seemed to mentally slap himself, "It is simply because it is tiresome."

"Really? How long can you fly then? How fast can you go?"

It was Louise's fiancée, Wardes that answered his queries with a chuckle.

"My my, Ser Kirito," Wardes spoke, "It's almost as if you have experience in that kind of thing."

Their gazes met at that remark. Wardes' look was sharp, but didn't hold any ill intent just yet.

"You could say that," Kirito was non-committal.

"I could say a lot of things," Wardes continued to smile, "My fiancée has told me all about you."

Somehow that last phrased seemed to have an edge to it.

"I wish I could say the same about you," Kirito replied now, "I didn't even know Louise had a fiancée."

"It is a bit of an old story," Wardes said looking to Louise.

"We were engaged when I was young," Louise supplied.

She didn't need to say it but Kirito had understood that it was arranged. He didn't quite know what to make of such a rare and mostly old fashioned custom.

"As long as you're fine with it," he finally told her.

"Yeah," Louise replied though without the conviction he knew she had.

"That aside," Wardes saw that she was distinctly uncomfortable with the topic and shifted focus, "I hear you're also married."

"Married?" Guiche returned to the conversation once more after having stuffed his face full of meat pie for a moment, "That's the first time I've heard that."

Kirito didn't deny it. The topic was bound to come up again sooner or later.

"In any case are you sure you're actually married and not just some barbarian practice of claiming a woman for yourself?"

The earth mage earned himself a glare from the swordsman sitting next to him.

"Ah, are you mad?" Guiche continued, finally finding something that got under Kirito's skin, "Or wait, perhaps it is the other way around? That it would be some barbarian princess has fallen for your sword tricks and claimed you as the bride."

"You're one to talk, womaniser," Louise remarked.

"So did your swordsmanship woo her?" Wardes asked Kirito.

"I'm no womaniser Vallière. All beautiful women deserve the praise they get. I am simply a poet of truth."

"Not exactly," Kirito expounded, "I'm not sure if it made a good first impression."

"If you're a poet of truth Gramont then I'm the Crown Princess of Tristain."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Wardes replied, "If your skills helped capture Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt then it must be at least noteworthy."

"A bold claim Vallière, are you prepared to usurp the throne already with that paltry skill of yours?"

"If you know so much then you'll also know it wasn't all me," Kirito corrected.

"Silence."

Louise attempted to cast a spell. All it managed to achieve was a forceful explosion at the end of her wand. The force from the spell knocked Guiche backwards out of his chair but otherwise didn't physically harm him. Louise looked slightly confused as to why it was so. As for Kirito and Wardes, they turned to look but after surmising that nothing of note happened returned to their conversation.

"It does make me curious as to the extent of your skill however. You wouldn't mind if I experience it?"

"Not really."

"Perhaps tomorrow morning then as it is late. The ships do not arrive until it is near noon so it'll give us some time."

Kirito yawned almost reflexively at the mention of the time. Another duel in the morning, he thought, I might be sore all day on the boat.

"You're right," he agreed, "Sleep sounds nice."

With that said, Wardes paid for the meal and they retreated to their respective rooms. Louise and her fiancée shared a room and Wardes, being the considerate man he was, arranged to have Kirito and Guiche in the room next door. Everyone was fine with that arrangement although Louise had flushed slightly when they were booking the rooms. She had wished to remain a maiden until after her wedding and knowing Wardes, who in turn knew her, it was probably another form of teasing. It went so far that she found herself sleeping in his arms. While she rebuked him for being improper he assured her that their physical intimacy would go no further.

Louise held back sleep for a while as she mulled over the day's events. Though not particularly noteworthy, it was the small spat she had with Guiche that held her attention. She failed in casting a spell again. Or rather, she failed at casting silence. All her spells had resulted in an explosion of some kind. Thinking back on it, it wasn't quite like when she attempted to cast fireball either. Assuming that this explosion was the one thing she could cast, would she able to master it to suit her purposes? Though she had her doubts about it there wasn't a thing to lose if she tried. With her self-reflection complete she soon fell asleep and dreamt once more.

Her dream, like all dreams, had always been of happy times. Whether of the past or future, Louise's dreams were rarely nightmares. They had all been happy affairs from childhood or futures where she had absolute power, one where she couple topple nations and return the slights of her peers tenfold. Tonight had been no different for what happier a day could there be than that of her wedding?

Her dress was creamy white and she was adorned with jewels that sparkled in the light. In her arm was her father, a duke and in front of her lay a red carpet lined by rows of guests who had arisen from her entrance. They were all in awe. She could see Guiche, who had stood near the back, surprised by how Louise had grown into the woman of her dreams. Kirche was weeping, for she lamented her loss to Louise as a true woman and a lady. Tabitha and that commoner girl, Siesta, were farther out of her sight but she found them nonetheless. They both seemed genuinely supportive, at least as much as their stoic expressions allowed. As she walked closer to the altar at the end, she spied Henrietta, her mother and her sisters. They all seemed happy for her save perhaps Eleanor who she threw a swift smug smile. At the altar stood Wardes, a blue dress uniform now adorning his features instead of the armour he usually wore. Amidst it all she felt something was missing.

Where was her familiar? She swept her gaze left and right yet could not find him. Where was he? She was starting to panic and took a step back, only to bump in to something. Looking behind her, she found a black cloak and the familiar smile that had turned to assuage her. It was an unspoken assurance, "I have your back". Satisfied, she surrendered herself to the dream.

As for Kirito, he lay awake in his room as Guiche snored the night away. It wasn't the snoring that kept him up. Marriage had been the centre of conversation for the past few days and that was what was keeping him up. It was supposed to just be a small detail but now Louise was pretty much using the fact for herself. It wasn't that he minded but Guiche had hit on the uncertainty of it all. Was he sure he was actually married? He had remembered her face, the light chestnut hair and kind smile.

Yet again he was thinking of the last time he saw her. The worry on her face when it looked like he was going on ahead was with him even though photograph-like memory frayed around the edges. That's right, he remembered, he wanted to take her with him to a place far away. This land and this country he was in wasn't exactly what he meant and wondered whether she could and/or would follow him here if it were at all possible. Hopefully it didn't involve dying. He never wished it on anyone even if he did have to stain his hands. Was he going to do that here too? With many worries and no one to confide in, the familiar too soon fell to sleep, albeit fitful.

Thus when he found himself facing Wardes the next morning, the latter was concerned that he would not be at his best. As soon as he gripped Derflinger however, the weight on his shoulders was shed along with his fatigue. He felt fresh and ready for combat as he normally could be. Idly he thought to himself that he ought to rely less on the magic to keep him going. Wardes was thus assured a fair fight, as fair as could be between swordsman and mage in any case.

They were to be duelling only until their ship would allow the boarding of passengers which was in a few minutes. Of course they would be using their respective weapons since it was mainly to gauge the ability of each other. The added threat of injury was of course only to bring out the best in the other and wasn't actually because they planned to murder each other. Kirito of course had voiced his concerns but a knight of Wardes' stature wouldn't be a knight at all if he couldn't last a few minutes against a swordsman.

"I, Viscount Wardes, Griffon Knight, would like the honour of this duel."

"Kirito, Black Swordsman, likewise."

Guiche had reluctantly instructed him on how a formal duel was conducted earlier in the morning. It was something that Kirito never really thought about since in his mind duels without a popup message started as soon as either was ready. The nobility, he was told, weren't fond of not knowing who they fought and thus usually appended some kind of epithet after their name and titles.

The location was a small cargo area overlooking the moorings, with Guiche and Louise as spectators. It wasn't initially cleared of obstructions but that wasn't hard to rectify. Of course being one for pomp, Guiche had decided to signal the start.

"Once you both are ready you may begin."

They both were however and Kirito was the first to lunge at Wardes. His opponent held in his right hand a strange sword. Rather it wasn't a sword as Kirito surmised mid strike, but a wand of some sort. With a basket hilt at the bottom, the rod tapered forward about a forearm's length and was tipped with a thicker cylindrical weight. He was literally flying from his lunge and it was almost too late for him to make corrections when he saw the implement rise up straight in front of him, a vortex of air forming just past its tip. The motion was familiar, like a rapier class counter thrust, telegraphed partially by the shift of the shoulders after it had appeared in Warde's right hand.

Kirito had to throw himself to the side and feel the ripple of the magically formed air current that nearly cut him. It was horrible for his stance, and he felt his knees creak from the strain. It wouldn't be a good idea to get injured. Painkillers, magical or not, did not actually fix anything. It was a good thing he trained a little. He knew his limits and he was edging terribly close as he shifted about trying for a slanted cut as he passed by Wardes' side.

Wardes was trying to keep his distance, retreating one pace in the time it took for Kirito's blow to initiate. It was a weird angle for the latter but somehow, the skill initiated and its magic took it towards its unchanging course. Wardes could see this too but he couldn't predict the exact angle of the blow. Instead he went for a wider area spell intending to push back the blow with a wall of wind. It did him no good as the sword seemingly severed the spell. Almost too late did the Griffon Knight sway backwards. The only damage was to his hat as the sword's tip nicked it, opening a small but barely noticeable cut.

Kirito was surprised, partly because he expected Derflinger to be blown away. He recalled the words of his sword.

"The only time when I regain my edge is when you use your sword skills. The very air itself parts for me as I cut through and not even magic can stop me."

He didn't think that so much truth was in those words and he quickly factored it in to the fight. Their exchange had given him a glimpse of Wardes' abilities. He didn't need to avoid all of Wardes' spells. There were those he could just cut through. There wasn't any resistance either so he didn't think the sword skill would stop midway but he wasn't exactly in a position to test it safely.

However, it worked both ways. Wardes had now experienced being on the receiving end of a sword skill and saw how dangerous it was. The elder man frowned. Perhaps Kirito's warning was in fact well-intentioned and not an idle boast. He would shift his tactics accordingly.

Wardes maintained his distance, launching only a concentrated barrage meant only to keep Kirito from manoeuvring with his incredible dashing speed. No matter how fast he could go it wouldn't matter if the air itself moved just as fast. Kirito wasn't idle either, trying to break out of the field of fire that hampered his sideways mobility. There were only two directions, forward or back and the latter would only serve Wardes' intentions. Thus the pattern of his forward lunging as Wardes retreated repeated itself. There were small changes though, as Wardes had started setting traps and laying out bait as Kirito started anticipating and leading his target.

It was stalemate, one that lasted as they traded, Kirito managing to sneak a few cuts that were too close for the Viscount's comfort, Wardes managing to catch only loose pieces of Kirito's clothing. The bell sounded, signalling the end of their duel and that their ship was ready for boarding. They froze instantly.

Despite the stalemate it was Wardes who had remained relatively untouched by the duel, the nick in his hat being the only major casualty. His breathing of course was uneven and sweat was starting to become noticeable. Kirito for his part sustained the most visible damage. Some parts of his sleeves had been cut and the edges of his trousers were frayed. It was his cape that was tattered the most, losing a good few centimetres from the abusive wind that Wardes had hurled out at him. However as his fingers were still grasping Derflinger he still looked completely combat ready. This wouldn't last as soon as he put the sword away though.

"Impressive," Wardes managed, "I didn't expect you to win but a stalemate is nonetheless impressive."

Kirito remained silent, finally lowering Derflinger to a less than threatening stance. Well, a draw wasn't that bad. He was missing an edge, a sword edge to be specific. If only he had another sword, Kirito whined inwardly. Then again, he probably didn't want to go all out on Wardes, or let him know that was not his best. Closing his eyes he finally sheathed the blade, fully prepared for the exhaustion that hit him.

He had to give it to Louise's fiancée, the man was more alert that appearances would suggest. The small movements of the brows softening when Kirito finally exhaled were the only indicator of Wardes' suspicion of something. Sagging discreetly, Kirito only gave the man a smile, only to be given one in return.

"Coming off the combat high?"

Kirito nodded as he felt lead in his limbs. His movements were sluggish yet his hands were trembling.

"Still, you must be reaching the limitations of most commoners," Wardes seemed concerned for Kirito.

Clasping his knees, Kirito took deep breaths. It was an exaggeration of course but Wardes got the message. Kirito appeared too winded to talk at the moment.

"Apologies Ser Kirito," Wardes took Louise's hand, "I shall board first with Louise. Take your time to regain your breath. The ship will leave within the hour. There is no need to hurry."

Only Guiche remained with him. He walked to a nearby parapet and curiously enough, Guiche never spoke a word as he took a seat at the edge. The noble lad was regarding him strangely. Or rather, his gaze shot past Kirito's left shoulder. Turning to see, he found a familiar face. An alluring confident smile peered out from under a hood but it was the green hair that spilled from it that gave away her identity.

"Let's do it one more time," Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt suggested, "Just to make sure."


	16. A Black Swordsman in the White Country 4

"Finally get involved face to face"

Kirito and Wardes' duel had served to inspire Guiche somewhat. He had to admit that despite the detestable notion of using a sword Kirito's swordsmanship was beautiful in a way. It truly looked like magic and he wouldn't have known better if Kirito himself did not confess to being a commoner. As for Wardes, well, his rank of Griffon Knight was well deserved. Though he wasn't exactly an expert at air magic, the way he weaved the elements together to form the spell were masterful. Wardes must have been at least a triangle class. It didn't look like either of them were holding back even though it was hard to follow with his own eyes.

The result was a stalemate, a rarity in most cases. He was even more surprised when it was Wardes that had conceded the point rather than force it to a definitive conclusion. Kirito did not argue like Guiche had expected. If anything, the laidback acceptance was typical of the strange familiar. It was not like he could force the issue. Kirito had fought a triangle class Griffon Knight to a stalemate. Guiche had to grudgingly concede that the familiar may actually be stronger than him. That or the Griffon Knights weren't truly that great. Both conclusions were difficult to accept.

Their duel was done now however and Guiche snapped back to the present as he accompanied Kirito to a nearby parapet. Kirito was well spent, as he should have been after that display for physical ability. He wasn't alone in that regard. Though it was well hidden, Wardes had started showing signs of magic fatigue. It wasn't exactly a secret that there were limits on how long a mage could cast but most commoners were right when once was usually enough.

His thoughts of course were interrupted by the appearance of an appreciable female figure. It was clothed in blue dress overlaid by a brown hooded cloak. He could barely recognise the face underneath the hood given that her green hair had of course spilled out of it, seemingly to emphasize the curves around her bosom, and distracting him. Her voice was alluring and sensual but it wasn't him who she addressed.

"Let's do it one more time. Just to make sure."

The sentence itself held no meaning to him but for the familiar it did as he tackled Guiche to the ground as his thoughts were underway.

"What in Brimir's name are doing you oaf?" Guiche shouted after he hit the floor hard.

He was answered by a gigantic fist that swept over them. Kirito still had a firm hold on him and forced both of them to roll out from under the shadow. Stone impacted stone, and the two felt the earth move.

"Still quick as ever aren't you?"

Guiche did not know how to respond and it seemed the familiar didn't deign to give a response as the both of them clambered quickly to their feet. Their path to the ship was temporarily blocked as the massive earth golem's arm barred the way. They turned to run in the opposite direction. A circuitous route was preferable especially when it broke line of sight. Unfortunately for the earth mage and the familiar, their planned escape route was also blocked.

Stalking out from the side streets and the cover of the warehouses a mob formed led by a black robed man in a faceless white mask. They were armed with weapons of all kinds, blunts, knives, spears and the odd sword and mace. Their other equipment however looked all kinds of used. Some were in ratty tunics whilst others wore studded leather with the rare steel armour. The black robed man was set apart immediately as his clothing was of the finest quality. Guiche had an eye for such fine fabrics as most nobles tended to favour them, that and the insignia on his breast. He walked ahead of the mob, his gait light and the cane in his hand twirling with amusement.

"What ho Fouquet," a voice emerged from beneath the mask, "I thought you claimed they would fall within one blow?"

"They just got back up again," Fouquet replied rather jovially.

The assembled men had their laughter.

"The swordsman is mine," she continued, "I have a score to settle with him."

"As milady wishes. We shall have the noble brat for ourselves."

"Pederasty is unbecoming," Guiche shot back at the man.

Another bout of laughter.

"You hear that lads?" the white mask turned to the mob, "Let's show him how much he is loved."

The mob's laughter died down and they once again started to advance. Instinctively Guiche backed up against Kirito. They were standing back to back, each afraid of their respective foe but they were defiant still.

"I'll let you have mine if you'll let me have yours," Kirito offered.

"To fall with you at my back of all things," Guiche sighed and drew his rose wand, "For our last stand, make it glorious or I swear to Brimir that you and I will have words commoner."

"Switch," was all the reply he got before all hell was unleashed.

On Earth 1980 CE, a programming student by the name of Richard Bartle chose a word to describe a self-moving object within a game a fellow student left him with. It was the first Multi User Dungeon that would spawn many other games other like it. Skip forward to 1991 CE and the emergence of DikuMUD, another such Multi User Dungeon named after the department of computer science of the University of Copenhagen. This word was literally codified and would soon enter the parlance of the massively multiplayer online game known as EverQuest as the latter was heavily inspired by the former. Its usage is prevalent in Kirito's life, as a gamer and as an extraterrestrial visitor to this strange word he found himself in.

The word of course was "mob". Even when he registered the individuals as mobs, an abbreviation of mobile, as in a mobile object, killing was not in his nature. In fact, the act of killing mobs for gain was typically called farming or grinding, quietly trying not to imply mass genocide for experience points, money and loot. The assembled men, save the masked one, were in his mind trash mobs, those undeserving of a fight as it would give him nothing in return for his efforts. They didn't deserve death like the deliberate and vicious murderers he once fought. He still harboured some guilt for that, most of it assuaged when justice caught up with them.

The first man to reach Kirito hefted a club over his head but never brought it down as Derflinger's pommel smashed in to his face. Though he would not kill, he had to defend himself. These men were the dregs of society or mercenaries down on their luck. His defence was merciless. Kirito had realised that without the sharpness granted by a sword skill Derflinger was still pretty sharp with the force he could muster due to the familiar's enchantment. Just as well that he used the blunt end. Broken bones were less than lethal.

It took a while for the mob to realise that though this strange swordsmen were cutting them down with impunity he did not kill and thus were emboldened. No good came out of it as Kirito fended them off and cleared a path, leaving shattered knees, arms, faces and spirits.

A battle between mages boiled down to speed, ingenuity and endurance. This was especially so for earth mages who worked through a physical medium. Nothing quite blocked an attack like a solid earth wall. Those were of course, the basic spells and most mages had a spell they favoured, their signature if you will. Guiche had erected such a wall, the materials he borrowed from the earth golem's arm without a problem. That was his first spell to test the waters. It was a pretty tall and big wall, hoping to shut out the femme fatale who so desperately wanted Kirito's life. If there was anyone who was going to defeat that impudent familiar it would only be him, Guiche de Gramont.

It didn't last long, a portion of it crumbled like dirt, leaving a circular window for the beautiful woman to step through, her eyes set on him. Though he never shied away from a female's gaze, Guiche didn't quite like how she looked at him. It was almost predatory. The tables were turned.

"Oh my, such a daring young man," she cooed.

He couldn't see her wand but she raised her right hand and pointed at him. The projectiles were already on their way. Blunt objects, not meant to kill, not at the speeds they were travelling at any rate. They were meant to incapacitate so that she could savour the sickly sweet tortures he would be inflicted with. Guiche responded with a shower of petals from his rose wand. They quickly transmuted in to obstructions and negated some of the projectiles headed his way. Then he saw it again, his shield crumbling to dust soon after they were erected and he was struck squarely in the chest. As his breath was emptied he swore he recognised that signature anywhere. The rumoured thief that left all fortification and safeguard crumble to dust under her will was none other than Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt.

He landed hard and before he could muster himself again, he felt a hand tugging him to his feet and away from the battle.

"Come on," the rude familiar spoke as they ran, "This way."

"I thought you captured Fouquet," Guiche complained.

"I did too."

"What good is deception if you were going to be found out?"

"I think we have more important things to worry about."

As Kirito said that, one of the walls of the alleyway they had ducked into exploded, in a crash of timber and stone. Following them were the shouts of their pursuers.

"We have to get to the ship."

Guiche agreed and they took a side street. Ducking left and right in to alleys, the two tried to shake off their pursuers. It wasn't that effective given they were being chased by a giant stone golem and all the sell swords within the city. Every so often they find their way barred, but between the two of them, it didn't delay them too long.

"Are you sure this was the right way?" Guiche was confounded by the path they took.

"Probably," the familiar replied, "left."

Guiche ducked to the left as another piece of debris flew by him. They finally burst in to the main port area. Most ships had raised their gangplanks and were jostling to leave port whilst most civilians had already cleared out, fleeing the violence that trailed the two. It was just their luck that their ship had to be the one moored farthest along the pier.

"Just a little bit left," Kirito encouraged.

"I'll kill you when we're safe."

They both continued running as Fouquet's earth golem came crashing through a nearby building. Barring their way were more men though this time most of them were reluctant to approach. Guiche had no qualms in squashing rabble and as he ran, a familiar trio of bronze golems formed up alongside his run. The two groups crashed, and the boys never stopped their sprint.

As they neared their ship they could see the white masked man involved in a struggle with Wardes. They were slinging spells as fast as it was humanly possible.

"Stay back," the Griffon Knight warned them.

Kirito didn't seem to heed the warning and plunged headlong in to melee. He was rewarded with an arc of lightning licking out to find him. Reacting as fast as he could, he lunged ahead with Derflinger leaving a trail of blue as he met the spell head on. It washed over and around him, singeing his clothing where Derfliner's cut was incomplete. Before his blow struck, the white mask had shifted his cane and sped out from under the blow. Derflinger circled around to try and catch the masked man but it was stopped short by the masked man's cane. They met face to face for only a moment as Wardes' air spells hit home like a hammer and sent the masked man flying off the side of the pier.

"We need to leave now," Wardes said as Guiche joined them.

"Where's Louise?" the familiar was ever faithful.

"She's safe," the Griffon Knight reassured, "Stay still, you're on fire."

"They're closing," Guiche warned.

As Wardes was putting out the effects of the lightning spell, their pursuers were drawing ever closer. The earth golem controlled by Fouquet reared itself up, towering over their tiny ship and the men around its feet. Casually it strode forward, heedless of those caught underfoot, and readied a fist to smash the ship.

"Gramont, can you handle the rabble?" Wardes asked of him, "I'll make sure we can leave."

"Yes sir," he replied enthusiastically.

His wand rose up and so did a solid earth wall. All this spell casting was starting to make him tired. There wasn't much left in him left. Wardes magic only managed to divert the fist and it smashed in to the ground and bringing down the golem like a drunkard. Their ship's moorings were cast off as it started to rise up. The gangplank was starting to rise as well. With little fanfare, Wardes helped Kirito aboard as he too flew.

"Gramont I'm out, you need to hurry," the knight urged as the ship sailed higher and higher.

It was said as Guiche had cast another round of bronze golems to hold the wall and a sword for his own use. There wasn't nearly enough for sustained flight. You young earth mage didn't even need to deliberate.

"I never liked ships anyway Ser Wardes," he replied, "I shall buy you all the time you need."

"No," was a shout from a familiar voice.

Wardes was faced away and restraining something but Guiche paid it little mind as he returned his gaze to the upcoming battle. They were charged with escorting Louise safely to the Prince and her road would continue. As for Guiche, though he never thought about it, selling himself dearly for the crown wasn't such a bad way to go. It was going to be painful however. He had exerted himself much more than he ever did today and was exhausted, physically and magically. At best he'd have enough for two small spells, not anything combat worthy. He wasn't looking forward to it as the wall he had erected crumbled slowly. It started to rain.

"Even Brimir in His Heaven showers me with praise," he remarked as the men advanced upon him, "Come forth those who dare, only Guiche de Gramont and death awaits."

The cold of the rain could not be compared to the coldness of steel.


End file.
